Kagami no Crossing
by Chappy-the-Bunny
Summary: Living on his own at the age of sixteen, and among animals rather than humans, was something that Kagami Taiga had never expected for himself. Regardless, who was he to complain? He had always been up for a little adventure.
1. New Arrival

**Kagami no Crossing**

The rain was absolutely relentless. It beat down in horrid sheets against the roof, windows, and windshield of the car as the desperately aged automobile trudged along. Up until this point, the ride had been a silent one, save for the sound of the rain, of course. When the husky voice of the turtle seated within the driver's seat began to converse, cutting through the quiet and speaking in a sort of foreign dialect, it had nearly given his passenger a start.

"Some rain we're havin', huh?"

"Yeah..."

"Are ye fond o' the rain?" the driver insisted on asking.

"I don't mind it."

"Aye...say, do ye have a name, lad? I've been meanin' to ask ya, but ye looked to be lost in yer thoughts. Didn't feel like intrudin'."

"Kagami..." he answered with hesitance, "Kagami Taiga."

"Kagami Taiga, eh? That's quite a long one, ya know?"

"...You think?"

"Aye, I do. Most of the lads and lassies that I drive 'round don't have names, why...why longer than seven letters, I would imagine." After a brief pause and a sharp left turn, the driver continued by asking, "So, Kagami, if I can call ye that fer short, where are ye headed to again? I don't think ye ever addressed it."

"Ah! I have it written down somewhere..."

As Kagami frantically searched through his bags, his driver couldn't help himself from giving out a hearty laugh. "Har, har, har! Such youth! Are ye sure yer ready to set off on yer own, Kagami? Knowing where yer goin' to be livin' ought to be on the very top of yer list, or else-"

"It is, it is!" Kagami interrupted. "I have it right here, it's uh...Kiseki? Kiseki Village?"

"Kiseki, eh? Good place, good place. Only heard good things 'bout it."

Kagami breathed and audible sigh of relief. He knew he should have done some more research on the town before setting off on his journey, but truth be told, there was a sort of excitement with an air of mystery; the venturing off into lands of unknown. Kagami was a notorious risk taker, and moving away from home at the ripe age of sixteen was his biggest risk yet.

"Oh, would ye look at that. The rain be lettin' up. And we should be pullin' into Kiseki any moment now. What luck ye have, lad!"

Kagami hadn't paid much heed to the status of the rain until his driver had mentioned it. Just as he was about to get a better look from his side of the windows, the car had entered into a narrow tunnel, swapping out the sky for a deep shade of black. Although the tunnel had been abrupt, it was reasonably short-lived.

A bright cast of unexpected light forced Kagami to squint. In an effort to correct his vision, he rubbed both of his eyes and shook his head from side to side. Suddenly, the car had jerked into a halt.

"Here we be! Good 'ole Kiseki Village!" Shooting his passenger a glance in the rear-view mirror, the driver had found himself quickly amused. Kagami was all to busy fussing about, trying to collect up his bags, while at the same time trying to untangle himself from the constrictive means known as a seatbelt. "Ye need any help back there?"

"No, no," Kagami protested, "I've got it," and with a metallic pop, he was free. Getting out of the car, nearly tripping over his own two feet in the process, Kagami took a moment to drink in his surroundings. The air smelt of early March, and the trees and plant-life all looked to be blossoming quite nicely. Everything was so rural and quaint. It was...nice. Nice until a loud honk from his driver's horn had nearly given him a heart attack, that is.

"If ye ever need a ride somewhere, just give me a shout," he offered. "Me name is Kapp'n, and I've been navigatin' these roads fer long enough to know all the which-ways and in-outs."

"Will do..." Kagami nodded uncertainly, though he had to admit that Kapp'n's eccentricity did make the trip a bit more enjoyable.

"See ya, lad," Kapp'n smiled - or at least that's what it had appeared to be to Kagami - and with a puff of black exhaust, he drove out of sight.

Alone and unaware, Kagami first looked to his left, then to his right, and when he finally took the time to look behind himself, he noticed that he was standing just within walking distance of a rather large, rather interesting looking building. '_That place seems...important,'_ he thought, and with hurried steps, Kagami hauled his luggage and went to go and check it out.

Upon his entrance, a small bell chimed and a personable-looking pelican assumed her post at what appeared to be a duel-counter. Straightening out her bowtie and puffing up her feathers, she greeted, "Welcome to town hall! You must be Kagami Taiga, correct?"

Kagami set his bags aside for the time being and nodded. "Yes, that's me," he answered.

"How splendid!" the pelican beamed. "My name is Pelly, and no need to worry! Tom Nook has already told me so much about you!"

"Oh, you know Mr. Nook?" Mr. Nook, also known as Tom Nook, was Kagami's somewhat-of-a real-estate-agent. At least, that was the impression Mr. Nook had imposed, when they spoke over the phone a few weeks ago.

Pelly giggled quite girlishly. "Oh, yes, yes. Everyone knows Tom Nook, dear. And you know, I'm sure he's absolutely anxious to meet with you!"

"Really? Where can I meet him?" Kagami asked.

"His shop is just up the hillside," Pelly informed. "Nook n' Cranny is it's name, but I'm sure you're eager to see your new house first. After all, that luggage must be rather cumbersome to carry around with you."

Eyeing his bags, Kagami agreed with a nod. However, there was just one problem. "Um, as much as I'd love to do that, I have absolutely no idea where my house is..." he confessed rather bashfully.

"Oh dear!" Pelly gasped. "Of course you don't! I haven't given you your map yet! Silly me, silly me!" As the pelican ran off to fetch him a map, Kagami couldn't help but notice the elderly turtle that was sitting - moreso sleeping - at a desk placed off into the corner. Even with being a turtle, and, in a sense, of the same species, the sleeping entity gave off a more refined flare than Kapp'n had. With this in mind, Kagami concluded that he must have been someone of power.

"Here we are, here we are!" Pelly chanted, rushing back to her original position at the counter. Offering Kagami his map, she explained, "I circled the location of your residence, but it shouldn't be too hard to find it! Climb over the hill, cross the bridge, then continue south and you should make it there just fine."

Giving the map a once over, Kagami looked to Pelly and nodded. "Thank you for your help."

"No problem, dear. Oh! And if you ever need to mail a letter-" Pelly quickly scampered over to the second window of the counter, "-the town hall also serves as a post office!"

Knowing that his mother would be dying to hear from him, Kagami chuckled and said, "That could come in handy, thanks."

Gathering up his bags, Kagami waved to Pelly and took his leave. Outside, he opened up his map once again and grew thoughful. "Okay..." he planned to himself. "She said to climb over the hill, cross the bridge, and continue south. Seems simple enough." And thankfully, it was.

On route to his house, Kagami had ended up passing by Nook n' Cranny, but listening to Pelly's advice, he knew it would be in his best interest to drop his bags off at his house before he began walking intrusively into stores; even if those stores did give off the appearance of something rather...shabby.

While crossing the bridge, Kagami stopped for a moment to look into the river water. "No fish, huh?" he snickered, slowly continuing south.

After walking for what felt like a quarter to a half mile, Kagami could make out the faint impression of a small house. And when he got closer, he realized it was just that: a _small_ house. "Is this _really_ where I'm going to be living?" he muttered under his breath, still struck with disbelief and maybe even a hint of disappointment.

Moving to the front door, he shifted one of his bags from his forearm to his shoulder and attempted to unlock the knob when he realized he was missing something. "Wait a second...I don't have-"

"Your keys?"

Jumping, maybe even panicing a little, Kagami spun around to face the owner of a voice he had not been expecting to hear. "C-can I help you?"

"Ho, ho, ho! Help me, you say? No, but I can help you!"

Standing before Kagami was a stout raccoon with a pointed nose, tattered blue apron, and eyes that looked far too tired for his chiper way of speech. "Help me...?" he drew out in question.

"Why, yes! Do you not remember? Ho, ho, ho! We spoke over the telephone just a few weeks ago!"

At first, nothing about this creature had rung a bell, but suddenly, something in that distinctive laughter had made Kagami realize just who it was that he was speaking with. "Would you happen to be Mr. Nook, by any chance?"

"Yes, yes! Indeed, that is me. And you are Kagami Taiga, yes?"

* * *

_Hello there! Chappy here! And welcome to...(drumroll please)...my very first crossover story! :D_

_This idea was something that really, truthfully, and honestly started off as a joke idea in my head, but look at me now! Here I am, publishing my joke ideas for all of you to read! :D_

_I have mostly everything already planned out for this story, so you can expect it to be a multi-chapter fanfic! I hope to do my best!_

_Thank you very much for taking the time to read! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! (:_

_- Chappy_


	2. Settling In?

Dropping his bags, Kagami bowed his head and quickly extended his right arm forward in apology. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Nook! I should have known it was you!"

Tom Nook continued to chuckle. Taking Kagami's hand into his own and shaking it, he said, "No worries, no worries. After all, we've only made contact with one another over the phone. This is our first time meeting face-to-face, ho, ho!"

Removing his grasp from the much-too-long handshake, Kagami couldn't suppress the feeling of embarrassment as it washed over him. It began to visibly affect his speech. "S-so...y-you said something about having the key to my house?"

"That's right, that's right! Yes, yes, I have your key right here!" Tom Nook pulled a silver-plated key out of his apron pocket and handed it over to Kagami. "Be sure to take a good look around and let me know what you think!"

Kagami had been practically shoved forward by the enthusiastic raccoon. Scooting to a halt just a mere handful of inches in front of his door, he was forced to pull himself back a bit in order to unlock it. Surprisingly to him - being the type of person who usually fussed with keys - Kagami was able to twist the knob and enter his home with ease.

There were four walls. Four very close, very suffocating walls. What felt like two steps forward and Kagami was already standing at the back wall of his house. _'Is this a joke...?'_ The thought ran through his mind, but he didn't dare say it out loud, not with Tom Nook standing so close by.

Looking to his left, Kagami noted a dusty cassette player that looked as if it had been pulled straight out of the 80s. Curious, he bent over and popped open the top. "Huh, nothing," he muttered, coming back into a stand. To his right - not even his far right, but his right - was an unlit candle in a saucer, placed atop of a cardboard box.

"Make sure you check upstairs, ho, ho!" Tom Nook called from outside, and Kagami wasn't one to object. If upstairs was any better than the first floor, maybe there would be a glimmer of hope to living there.

Climbing the narrow staircase and entering the upper room, Kagami was happy to see a bed - a small bed - but a bed nonetheless. Walking over to it and sitting on the edge of the mattress, Kagami soon noticed the telephone that rested next to him on a nightstand table. He was tempted to play around with it, seeing as it looked so antique and interesting, but he decided it would be better to reunite with Tom Nook for the time being.

Kagami descended the stairs, rounded the corner, and exited the house. He saw Tom Nook standing there waiting for him, rocking to and fro on his heels.

"So, what do you think?" the raccoon inquired, a bit concerned that his "client" didn't come bursting from the building with joy, clicking his ankles and exclaiming his love for the home.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Kagami sighed and looked to Tom Nook with regretful eyes. "It's...honestly, it's pretty small," he stated rather bluntly.

Before he could feel guilty for saying something so hostile, a small paw had been pointed up at his nose. "Yes, yes!" Tom Nook agreed, further saying, "Very small, indeed. But you know, once you pay back your mortgage, you'll be able to do all kinds of fun things, such as house expansions and renovations, ho, ho!"

Suddenly intrigued - and maybe even a little bit excited - Kagami asked, "Really? I can really do those kinds of things?"

"Yes, yes! But like I said, you must pay back your mortgage first."

"Well, okay. How much is my mortgage payment?" Kagami couldn't imagine it being too high. After all, the place wasn't very...it wasn't that great. He'd probably be able to pay it off with the money he'd saved up over the past year.

A gleaming grin spread across Tom Nook's furry face. "Oh, I think you'll be pleased to hear this, Kagami. Your mortgage payment is the low, low price of only...19,800 bells! Isn't that fantastic?"

Stone-faced and frigid, Kagami momentarily forgot how to breathe. 19,800..._bells_? What in the world was a "bell"? Was it the foreign currency of Kiseki Village, or something? And how was Kagami going to get 19,800 of them?! "Uh..." he muttered, not knowing what else to say.

"It's great, isn't it?" Tom Nook placed three hardy pat-pat-pats on Kagami's upper leg - seeing as he wasn't tall enough to reach the boy's shoulder - before adding, "Now, of course, you don't have to pay it all off at once, but I would like a little compensation as of this moment. You do have money with you, yes?"

Kagami nodded and quickly searched through one of his bags. Taking out his wallet and pulling forth his money, he explained, "It's, um...they're called dollars. I don't know if you'll accept them, but they're all I have."

Tom Nook looked at said dollars with curiosity. They were interesting. They looked like little rectangles of stationary. "Hmm," he hummed, "they're quite nice, yes, yes, but I'm afraid I cannot accept them." He paused and waited for Kagami to solemnly put away his rejected payment. "Is that all you have? Are you telling me that you do not have any money that will be of use to me?"

Kagami gulped. Suddenly, the demeanor of the raccoon had changed. He seemed angry...menacing, even. "That's right..." he answered nervously.

Like the flip of a switch, Tom Nook was suddenly brimming with excitement. "Ho, ho, ho! No worries, my dear Kagami! I have just come up with a most brilliant idea! Yes, yes, most brilliant indeed!"

"You...have?" Kagami was beginning to fear what this "idea" would entail.

"I have!" Poking Kagami's leg with the tip of his paw, Tom Nook stated, "Starting bright and early tomorrow morning, you will be working for me, part-time, at my shop!"

"...Eh?" Kagami was appalled.

"Yes, yes, it's the perfect idea!"

"Eh...?" Kagami was still appalled.

"Well, I'll leave you to enjoy your house for now, Kagami! Please rest well this evening! You're going to need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed if you're going to be working for me, ho, ho!"

Even after Tom Nook had scampered off down the road, Kagami was _still _appalled by what had just taken place. Somehow, in the expanse of three minutes, he had gone from stable, to penniless, to employed. Kagami thought that things like that only happened in movies or in manga, but maybe that was just what his life had come to.

Without a watch, cell phone, or even just your basic clock to give him the time, Kagami had to guess that the setting sun meant it was around 5 or 6 in the evening. _'I should probably start putting my stuff away,'_ Kagami thought, _'even if I don't really have any place to put it...'_

Lugging his baggage inside and shutting the door behind him with a kick of his foot, Kagami sighed and ruffled his hair. Up until this moment, he had been so eager to live on his own. It wasn't as if his family life at home was bad or anything. In fact, he had two, loving and devoted parents that raised him very well and provided to his every need. It was merely Kagami's wanderlust that had him standing where he was right now.

_'Mom is probably worried sick about me...'_

Recalling the telephone from the bedroom upstairs, Kagami figured it would be a good idea to give his parents a quick call to let them know that everything was alright and that he had arrived safely. It was the least he could do. After all, their only son had left the nest at age sixteen.

Climbing the stairs with bags in either hand, Kagami heaved his luggage over into the room's corner before taking a seat on his bed. He hadn't noticed it before, but the mattress gave a loud squeak under the weight of his body. "Must be old, or something," Kagami muttered, reaching over to grab both the telephone and its base. He rested it in his lap. "Now...how do I even use one of these things?"

Spinning the dial round and round, trying to get a feel for what he was doing, Kagami finally understood the concept of the antique device and began to spin the number for his parents.

However, when he lifted the telephone to his ear, expectantly awaiting to hear a ringing signal on the other end, Kagami had been greeted by a monotonous, robotic voice instead.

"I'm sorry, but this option is currently unavailable. Please try again later."

Setting the phone back on its base, Kagami chuckled softly and said, "Sorry, Mom. Looks like I'll need to pay the phone bill, before I can call you."

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! :D_

_With chapter 2 posted, the ball is now up and rolling with this story! I hope you're enjoying it thus far!_

_The GoM will be making their appearance in chapter 3. Please look forward to it!_

_Thank you very much for taking the time to read! (:_

_- Chappy_


	3. Heavy Work Load

This wasn't exactly how Kagami had planned on waking up. He'd fantasized about this day before; waking up to the sound of birds chirping, their sweet melodies filling his eardrums, a fully rested body with no aches or pains, and the fresh and electrifying feeling of knowing that he had the freedom of living all on his own. Instead, he awoke on the floor. His back was in knots, and his stomach was empty a swirling with regret.

"Stupid bed is too small..." he grunted, heaving himself up onto his feet. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Kagami sighed and looked around. "I wonder what time it is... Tch, sucks not having a clock."

He peered out his window. Luckily, it was shaping up to be another bright and sunny day. Perfect weather for having to work at Tom Nook's shop. Wait...

"Crap!" Kagami cussed, rushing over to his bags. Clothes, clothes, he needed to change his clothes. If he were to walk into Nook's Cranny, his first day on the job, wearing the same clothes that he had been sporting the day prior, he would no doubt get funny looks from his employer.

Even though his t-shirt was a wrinkled mess from being squished inside his duffle bag for so long, Kagami ran down the stairs and out the front door. There was no way he was going to be late. He wanted to start off living as a humble citizen of Kiseki Village on the right foot.

* * *

"You're late," Tom Nook stated. His voice was firm with authority.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Nook, sir! It won't happen again, I promise!" Kagami apologized, bowing his head for forgiveness.

"Yes, yes, well, there's no time to talk now." Tom Nook was busily rushing back and forth. It appeared to Kagami that he had paper tickets in his hands. Were those order forms? "Here! Put this on." A green apron was thrusted into Kagami's hands. "If you're going to be working for me, you have to dress appropriately. And don't get any funny ideas about taking it off!"

Holding the apron at arm's length, Kagami inspected the article of clothing with unsure eyes. "Um, Mr. Nook? Are you sure you don't have anything in a bigger size? It's kind of small-looking."

"It's the biggest one that I own, so it'll have to make due. Now chop, chop, Kagami! Put it on and get going!" Practically shoving Kagami out of his shop, Tom Nook instructed, "Your first order is from Kise. He's ordered this citrus wallpaper here and I need you to bring it to him. Do you think you can do that?"

"Yeah, I think-" Kagami attempted to say, but was instantly cut off.

"Good, good! Now go! And come back immediately afterward, you hear? No stopping to smell the roses on the way. We have orders to fill!"

When the shop door had been slammed behind him, Kagami sighed. "So much for being a model citizen..." he muttered, before eyeing his apron once more. "Now how the heck am I going to get this to fit?" The neck strap looked like it was barely going to fit over his head. And he was right. Tugging and pulling, gasping for air once he was free, Kagami tied what were supposed to be the waist straps - on him, they were the mid-back straps - around himself and carried on.

"He said Kise, right? Hmm..." Kagami hummed. "I wonder what this Kise is like. Actually, I wonder what _all_ of these people are like. Well, I guess they're not _people_ like me." Positioning the roll of wallpaper over his shoulder, Kagami smiled and concluded, "This'll be interesting, I'm sure."

It was lucky for Kagami that he had his map with him. It was also lucky that Kise's house was very close to Nook's Cranny. Checking his map over and surveying the house before him, Kagami made sure that he had the right place before issuing three hardy knocks on the front door.

"Coming! I'm coming-ssu!" a cheerful voice called from the other side. At least his first costumer would be a friendly one.

When the door had finally opened, Kagami was greeted with the sight of a cute little dog. His fur was a brilliant yellow in color, and super fluffy-looking in texture. Normally, Kagami was terrified of dogs, but he could only imagine how spunky of a person this pup would be if he were human.

"I'm here with a delivery for you. You're Kise, right?" Kagami asked.

"Yup, yup! That's me!" Kise woofed. "But who are you? I don't think I've ever seen you before!"

"I'm Kagami Taiga. I just moved into town yesterday," he explained.

"Really?! How exciting! I'm sure you're going to love, love, _love_ it here in Kiseki!" Yes, Kise was definitely quite spunky. "What do you have for me, Kagami? Omigosh! Is that the citrus wallpaper that I ordered?"

"Yes, it is."

"That's incredible!" Kise cheered. "I just placed my order for it yesterday-ssu! Oh, thank you so much!"

Kagami handed the roll of wallpaper over and into Kise's tiny little paws. "It's not a problem. Well, I hope you enjoy it, Kise." Kagami was just about to venture off when Kise stopped him.

"Wait, wait! If you give me just a moment, you can have my old wallpaper! I'm sure your new house could use some sprucing up. And you can think of me whenever you look at it!"

Before Kagami could interject, Kise had rushed inside of his quaint little home, shut the door, re-opened the door, and then rushed back out with a roll of his old wallpaper. How this happened in the span of ten seconds eluding him.

"Tah-dah! It's modern wallpaper! I'm sure you'll like it-ssu!" Kise smiled. "Be sure to stop by my place anytime okay? Oh, and by the way, can I call you 'Kagamicchi'? Please, please, please?"

Scratching the back of his neck, Kagami nodded and said, "Sure, I don't see why not. But what am I supposed to do with this roll of wallpaper? I still have work to do..."

"Can't you put it in your pocket?" Kise seemed genuinely confused.

"It won't fit in my pocket..?"

"Hm, your pockets must be full, then. Oh well! Maybe Tomcchi will let you keep it in his shop while you work! Just make sure he doesn't sell it-ssu!"

* * *

"Okay, your next delivery is for Midorima. He ordered this regal carpet, yes? He's been waiting on it for almost a week now, so you better hurry it up!" Tom Nook explained, sending Kagami on his way once again.

Midorima lived all the way on the other side of Kiseki Village in a small house that was built just by the mouth of the river. To get there, Kagami had to cross the bridge, walk all the way past his house, and through a large brush of trees.

Just as Midorima's petite little dwelling came into view, suddenly, Kagami was falling.

"Ahhh!" he yelped. Flailing his arms, Kagami shouted out for help.

* * *

"Muro-chin..."

"What is it, Murasakibara?"

"He fell..."

"Huh?"

Murasakibara, the lazy, too-big-for-his-own-good bear, pointed forward, saying, "That person there. He fell."

Himuro himself was an eagle - a majestic, well reserved one at that - but seeing Kagami struggling and thrashing, trying desperately to climb out of the hole he had fallen into, was enough to get his feathers frazzled.

* * *

"Help! Someone, please help me!" Kagami cried out.

"Here! Grab my wing!"

Kagami was stunned. The creature that reached out to him was breathtaking. His feathers were a crisp black color, much like that of the night sky. His beak looked as if it had been coated in the finest of silvers, and his eyes bore the intensity of a million suns. This eagle was as beautiful as dusk and dawn, and he was currently acting as Kagami's savior.

Grabbing a hold of his wing, Kagami was hauled back up onto his feet. And what's more, the hole he had fallen into had disappeared. Just what exactly was Kiseki Village made of? Magic?

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so..." Kagami groaned.

"Pitfalls are the worst, aren't they? Be sure to watch out for them from now on, alright? By the way, I'm Himuro. Oh, and this is Murasakibara." It had taken the large bear the entirety of all of the excitement to meet up by Himuro's side. "What's your name?"

Collecting up his delivery and his map, Kagami looked over at both Himuro and Murasakibara and answered, "I'm Kagami Taiga, but Kagami is just fine. Listen, thank you so much for helping me out, but I really have to run."

"Working for Nook, eh?" Himuro chuckled. "Man, that old raccoon just loves to run people ragged. You be sure to tell him I said hello, okay?"

"I will! Thank you again, Himuro! And it was nice meeting you, too, Murasakibara!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Murasakibara grunted. "Come on, Muro-chin. I'm hungry..."

Shaking his head, Himuro sighed and said, "That's nothing new."

* * *

Just as Kagami was about to knock on Midorima's front door, it swung open and nearly knocked him off of his feet. That was something that he really didn't need right now; not after what he had just endured.

"Hey, whoah, who are you?"

Everything that Kagami had learned from fairytales and storybooks was telling him to run for the hills, but something about this wolf's attitude pissed him off too much to run.

"My name is Kagami Taiga and I have a delivery for Midorima. Are you him?"

"Heck no!" the wolf snarled. "Name's Aomine. Better remember it, Bakagami. Anyways, I'm out. Catch you later, Midorima."

As Aomine passed on by, every fiber in Kagami's body wanted him to reach out and pull on his tail, but he was able to refrain himself.

"Did you say you had something for me, nanodayo?"

"Ah, yes, I have your car...pet? Hello?" When Kagami had turned around, he half expected to see another wolf; you know, judging from the deep, throaty voice. However, he saw nothing. No one.

"I'm down here, you fool," Midorima scoffed. "You have my carpet? It's about time, nanodayo."

Looking down, further down, and even _further_ down, Kagami had to refrain himself once again, but this time for an entirely different reason. Staring up at him was a pint-sized frog with a stuck-up expression and glasses far too big for his complexion.

"Uh, yeah, I have your...carpet," Kagami snickered. It was just too _funny_. How could someone with such a deep and demanding voice be so tiny?

"I haven't a clue as to what you find funny about this, nanodayo. Please give me my carpet," Midorima demanded, extending one of his nubby little hands forward.

"You don't need any help with it?" Kagami asked, noting how the carpet's weight made Midorima's hand drop slightly when he received it.

"Of course not. I've exchanged carpets by myself before. And since I won't be needing my old one, I suppose you could have it. But you better take good care of it, nanodayo."

Kagami guessed this must have been the norm for Kiseki villagers. Once they got something new, they'd instantly swap out the old. However, when Kagami took a peek at the carpet he would be getting, he couldn't help but notice just how exquisite it was. "Erm, are you sure you want to give it to me? It's kind of nice..."

"Take it. Blue has become an unlucky color for Cancers. I need it to be as far away from me as possible," Midorima explained, lifting the rolled up carpet for Kagami to take.

"Cancer? Like from the zodiac, or whatever?" Kagami questioned.

"Exactly. Tell me, what is your sign?"

"I'm a Leo, but I don't really believe in that kind of-"

"Today is said to be a particularly unlucky day for Leos," Midorima interrupted. "Do you have your lucky item with you?"

"Uh...no?"

"Well, you should. Anyways, we're done here, so goodbye-"

"Wait, Midorima?" It was Kagami's turn to interrupt.

"What is it?"

"My name is Kagami Taiga," he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "I just figured I should introduce myself to you, or something."

"Very well, then. As you know, I am Midorima. Now, goodbye."

"Bye-" Before Kagami could finish, the door had been shut in his face. He couldn't allow too much time to ponder on how rude both Midorima and Aomine had been. After all, he still had orders to complete.

* * *

"Your next delivery is for Akashi. He's ordered an axe. Now, I want you to be extra careful, okay? It's sharp, so don't go falling into any pits like you did with your last order," Tom Nook warned.

"Got it," Kagami nodded.

Akashi's house was located in a forrest-ridden area off in the west side of town. It was no wonder he had ordered and axe; he probably wanted to get rid of the over growth of trees!

* * *

For some people, walking through the forrest would put them at ease, but for Kagami, the moment he had entered the expanse of trees, for some reason unbeknownst to him, his heart rate began to pick up and the hairs on the back of his neck were all on end.

The sight of Akashi's house didn't make him feel any more comfortable, either. It wasn't that it looked unkempt, or anything like that. In fact, it was just the opposite. Everything about Akashi's house absolutely screamed aristocracy...but why was it located in the middle of the forrest?

When Kagami knocked on the front door - hesitantly, but he did knock - he was surprised that there was no answer.

"Hello?" he called out. "I'm Kagami Taiga. I'm working for Mr. Tom Nook? I have your delivery for you."

"_Oh_, is that my axe?"

The voice that had asked such a simple question was just above an eloquent whisper. It had come from behind, and it had scared the living daylights out of Kagami.

"Careful now. Don't go dropping it," Akashi ordered.

Turning around, Kagami dipped his head in apology and said, "I'm sorry about that. I really wasn't expecting you to be outside. Or behind me..."

"I see..." Akashi, a reddish cat with piercing, heterochromatic eyes, looked Kagami up and down, almost as if he were studying him. "You're new here."

"Yeah, I am. I just moved here yesterday," Kagami responded. He felt a bit wary. Something about making light conversation with Akashi was off-putting.

"From where?"

"Los Angeles. Have you ever heard of it?"

"I have. It's famous for its beaches and cinematic creations, correct?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. So, um, here's your axe. You probably want to start using it to cut down all of these trees, right?"

"Oh, is that what you think I'll be using it for?" Akashi gave an eerie chuckle. "That's funny."

Kagami gulped. Yeah, he definitely didn't like being around this cat. "It's...not?"

"Shouldn't you be heading back to Tom now? I'm sure he's waiting on you," Akashi smiled, completely ignoring the subject at hand.

"Yeah, I guess I should. It was...nice meeting you?" Even Kagami could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

"Yes, but the pleasure was all mine. Take care, _Taiga_."

A chilling shiver ran up and down Kagami's spine. That was the first time that someone in this town had called him by his first name...and it just _had _to be from the psychotic cat.

* * *

When Kagami had entered Nook's Cranny for the fourth time that day, he was surprised to see that the shop wasn't in complete disarray like it had been early. Maybe it was because he had been too busy being shoved in and out to go and fill orders, but the atmosphere around the shop felt a lot more at ease.

"Ah, Kagami! Yes, yes, welcome back! Did Akashi enjoy his axe?" Tom Nook smiled, scampering over to greet his employee.

"I think so. He was smiling..." Kagami replied.

"Good, good! Let's see now..." Tom Nook was surveying his list, checking off the names of those that Kagami had already given deliveries to. "Your next order will be for...hmm, well, you know what? It's fine. I'll make a personal delivery myself, for this one. Let's call it a day, shall we?"

Kagami couldn't be happier. Regardless, he wanted to make sure that he was off the hook. "Are you sure? I mean, I can make a quick stop-"

"No, no, there's no need for that. I'll take care of it all on my own," Tom Nook said reassuringly. "And with that, your work for me is done! Completely done! As in, you're a free man now, Kagami! Congratulations, ho, ho!"

"Whoah, what?" Kagami gasped. "But it's only been one day!"

"One day, one year, work is work, and your work is done! Now let's see about your debt, hmm? I'd say from today's deliveries alone...you've earned at least 1,800 bells. That'll bring your mortgage payment down to the lovely price of 18,000 bells!"

For some reason, Kagami felt like he was being gipped. All of that hard work, all of the disagreeable customers that he had to put up with, and for what? 1,800 bells? Though, what did he know? Maybe 1,800 was a lot of money in this foreign currency.

"Thank you, Mr. Nook, sir! It's been a pleasure working for you!" Kagami bowed.

"Ho, ho! The pleasure's all mine, Kagami!" Tom Nook chuckled. "Be sure to come back anytime! Now go home and get some rest. I'm sure now that the townspeople have gotten to meet you, they'll be excited to spend time with you! Before you know it, you'll be blossoming into Kiseki's most social of butterflies!"

Kagami doubted that, but he nodded his head and agreed.

* * *

Back home, Kagami assessed his earnings of the day. He had a modern wallpaper, a blue carpet, and 1,800 bells, bells that weren't even in his possession. "I guess I'll work on carpeting this place tomorrow," he sighed and tossed the blue carpet out onto the ground in front of him. Before his very own eyes, the carpet expanded and spread out to cover the entirety of his floor.

"Holy-! What the heck!?" he shouted. But with the initial shock quickly fading away, he began to wonder. "Will it work for the wallpaper, too?"

Throwing the roll of modern wallpaper at the back wall of his house, Kagami was mesmerized to see it envelope all four of his walls in the time that it takes one to bat their eyelashes. "What's up with this house..." Too tired to question it any further, Kagami went upstairs into his bedroom.

* * *

Earlier, before he had left Nook's Cranny, Kagami had asked Tom Nook about the antique phone in his house.

"Oh, that old thing hasn't worked in decades, ho, ho!" Tom Nook had laughed. "I just thought you would like to look at it. But if it's contact with your mother that you want, take this lovely paper back with you and write her a letter. You met with Pelly, right? If you bring your letters to her, she'll be sure to send Pete off to mail them!"

Now that he was in the security of his home, Kagami began to compose his letter.

_Hi, Mom,_

_It's Taiga. I know I said I'd call you when I arrived,_

_but my phone doesn't work. It sucks. I miss home._

_I miss you and I miss Dad, but at the same time,_

_I still feel like I want to live here. Maybe things_

_will start looking up for me soon. I love you._

_Kagami Taiga_

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! :D_

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The Generation of Miracles (plus Himuro) have finally made their appearance! (:_

_Thank you for taking the time to read!_

_- Chappy_


	4. A New Neighbor?

How Kagami had ended up catching common butterflies with Kise was a blur. However, from what he could recall, all he had wanted to do was visit the town hall. And then...

* * *

"Kagamicchi! Kagamicchi!" Kise called out, scampering after his newly found friend. "Kagamicchi! I have a favor to ask you!"

Turning on his heel, Kagami cocked his head to the side and asked, "A favor? What kind of favor?"

Shifting his weight back and forth, Kise smiled bashfully and said, "Well, you see, I borrowed this Gameboy from Aominecchi and was wondering if you would give it back to him for me."

A vein in Kagami's forehead popped. Stalking away from Kise, he defiantly stated, "No," and proceeded toward his destination: town hall.

Gasping, Kise ran after Kagami and tugged on the leg of his shorts. "But Kagamicchi! Aominecchi lives so far away from me! And with long legs like yours, you'll be able to get to him in no time at all-ssu!"

"I said no, Kise! I hate that punk, and I don't want to do it!" Kagami yelled. It was a bad move. When he turned around to see if Kise was still following him, he witnessed something that absolutely broke his heart.

Crystalline tears had begun to pool up in Kise's bright yellow eyes. Covering his ears, he sniffed and whimpered, "Kagamicchi's voice was so loud just then..."

_'Crap. I forgot that dogs have sensitive hearing...' _Crouching down to Kise's level, Kagami placed a hand on the top of his fluffy little head and said, "I'm sorry for raising my voice like that, Kise. Would it be okay if we just mail the Gameboy to him instead? I have to send a letter to my Mom anyways, so we can go to town hall together."

Kise looked up to Kagami and nodded. "We can do that...but can I ask something else of you?"

Rising back up into a stand, Kagami said, "Sure. What is it?"

"After we're finished, can we-"

* * *

"...catch butterflies together," Kagami sighed. He didn't want to be here. Actually, the more that he thought about it, he didn't want to be in Kiseki Village at all. _'Why did I have to pick such a weird town to move in to...?'_

"Kagamicchi! There's one coming your way!" Kise shouted while waving his net.

Kagami had lost his focus - not that he really had any to begin with. "Huh-? Whoah!" The butterfly that was flapping towards Kagami was no common butterfly. No, this one was huge! "What the heck is that thing?!"

"It's a birdwing butterfly, Kagamicchi! Catch it, catch it-ssu!" Kise was waving his net frantically now.

Not only had the butterfly been big, but it was fast. The moment Kagami had locked his sights on it, the butterfly had flown past him with such a force that it made the air surrounding is face shift.

"Don't let it get away, Kagamicchi! Those butterflies go for 3,000 bells at Tomcchi's!"

_'3,000 bells?!' _Kagami thought. _'That could help me pay off my debt! I need to catch this thing!'_

Preparing his net, Kagami began running after the birdwing butterfly. It's flight pattern was so bizarre to him. First it would fly left, then it would fall to the right. Lastly, it would zip back up to the left and make a quick turn for the right once more.

Panting horrendously, Kise was unable to keep up with Kagami's long strides. "I'll...I'll meet you...you once you catch it...ssu..." he heaved, regardless of whether Kagami would even be able to hear him or not.

Running, then sprinting, Kagami brushed past trees and tore through grass in order to keep track of the path of his prey. "There it is!" he shouted. Gaining ground on the butterfly, Kagami began a mental countdown in order to keep his head cool and his stampeding feet steady.

_'One...'_ he rose his net high.

_'Two...'_ he tightened his grip and readied his aim.

_'Thr-'_ he saw stars.

All but dragging his feet at this point, Kise continued to huff and pant. Even by the time he had made it to where Kagami laid, his friend still looked - presumably - like he had been knocked out cold.

* * *

"...cchi. Ka...cchi. K...gami..."

Kagami could barely make out the sound of Kise's voice calling his name. To him, it just sounded like white noise. That was, until he started getting shaken about.

"Kagamicchi! Kagamicchi, can you hear me?!"

Groaning, Kagami opened his eyes and moved to sit up. "Ah, God..." A throbbing pain shot through his head. "Look who's talking loud now..."

Placing his paws over his mouth, Kise bowed his head apologetically. "I'm sorry-ssu!" he whisper-spoke. "But are you okay? It looks like you crashed into it really hard..." So hard that he still had the imprint of bark on the skin of his cheek and nose. It was just like Kagami to get too far ahead of himself and end up crashing into a tree.

"Ugh..." he sighed. "So much for catching that stupid butterfly..." Lifting himself to his feet, Kise anxiously fussing about him not being well enough to stand up on his two feet own yet, Kagami shook his head and tried to gather his bearings. Nothing around him seemed familiar whatsoever. In essence, he felt lost.

"It's okay, Kagamicchi," Kise smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure you'll be able to catch one someday. In fact, you might even catch one today! Birdwings pop up out of nowhere at this time of day, so it's not uncommon, you know-ssu."

"Yeah, okay..."

_'I just really want to pay off my debt...'_

* * *

As the two began to walk back towards the town, Kagami noticed something strange. He could swear he hadn't seen it before, but set back in the cliffside, just beyond a sparse orchard of apple trees, Kagami could make out the distinct structure of a small, cottage-style house.

Kise realized that Kagami's steps had begun to falter and he, too, slowed his go. "Kagamicchi? Is something the matter?"

Stopping altogether, Kagami pointed over to where the house was located. "No, it's just, was that house always there? Did somebody new move in?"

The way Kise looked at Kagami made him feel stupid. "Kagamicchi, you didn't know?" he asked.

"Um...no? What don't I know?" He'd only been living in Kiseki for a few days. How was he supposed to know everything yet?

For some reason unbeknownst Kagami, Kise's tail began to wag. "That's where Kurokocchi lives!" he giggled.

"Kuroko...cchi?"

"Mmn, mmn! And you know, he's not new at all! In fact, he's lived here longer than all of us!"

"What, really?" Kagami asked. "I thought I had met everyone in this town. I guess not..."

"Really? Have you met Mr. Mayor yet?"

"Oh. No, I haven't, actually."

"Ah, well, anyways," Kise began to explain, "Kurokocchi doesn't typically come outside and socialize very much, so it's no wonder what you haven't met him yet. He doesn't even go inside of Tomcchi's shop! Every time he wants something new for his house, he orders it and has Tomcchi personally deliver it to him-ssu."

_"Your next order will be for...hmm, well, you know what? It's fine. I'll make a personal delivery myself, for this one..."_

"Wow..." Suddenly, it all made sense to Kagami. This Kuroko...he seemed interesting.

"I have a good idea!" Kise suddenly beamed. "Let's go over and get you two acquainted! Come on, come on!"

For a tiny dog, Kise had a strong grip, and the way that he was pulling on Kagami's shorts to guide him along left no room for argument.

When they were approaching the front door step, Kagami questioned, "Are you and Kuroko close?"

"Close?" Kise guffawed. "We're best friends! He'll let you know that, when you meet him!" Balling his paw into a fist, Kise knocked on the door. "Kurokocchi~? Are you there? I have someone here who would like to meet you-ssu!"

They waited. There was no answer.

"Kurokocchi~?" Kise tried again, but for a second time, there was no answer. Sighing dejectedly, he said, "Welp, I guess he's not home. Come on, Kagamicchi, let's go."

Kagami knew that couldn't be true. Kise had just said that Kuroko rarely ever left his house. With that being the case, Kuroko was probably ignoring them.

As they began to walk away, Kagami turned back to catch one last glimpse of the cottage. What startled him next was the way that the curtains quickly drew shut upon his glance. _'Was that...! Am I seeing things?'_ But he wasn't, for just a few seconds later, the blurred shadow of pointed ears ran past the window and disappeared.

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here with another chapter! :D_

_It was very Kise-centric! Also, Kuroko has finally (somewhat) been introduced to the scene! :D_

_Thank you for taking the time to read! I hope you enjoyed! (:_

_- Chappy_


	5. The Fishing Tournament!

_Hey Mom,_

_I'm writing to you again, because today_

_is something special. I think it's_

_called the "Fishing Tournament"._

_I've never gone fishing like this before, _

_so it__ should be interesting._

_ I love and miss you, Taiga._

* * *

It was the third Saturday of May. Kagami had been living in Kiseki Village for nearly two months now, and he was becoming rather acquainted with his fellow neighbors. Especially Himuro. This very moment, the two of them were enjoying a nice conversation as they leisurely walked through the shopping plaza.

"Oh, by the way," Kagami said, accidentally interrupting Himuro mid-story, "where's Murasakibara today? Doesn't he always hang around with you?"

"Yeah, he does," Himuro responded, "but he felt like sleeping late today, so I didn't want to bother him. He's a bit troublesome when he's angry..."

"Oh, so that's what kind of person he is." Kagami hadn't seen much of Murasakibara, since he had moved to Kiseki. He could only remember him from that one time he had fallen into a hole, and maybe a handful of other times in passing after that.

Using one of his wings to cover his beak as he chuckled, Himuro said, "Murasakibara means well, it's just that sometimes, he can be a tad bit eccentric."

"It seems like that's the truth for most of the animals that live here." Sighing, Kagami generously added, "Sometimes, I wonder if you're the only _normal_ one around."

"That's very kind of you, Kagami," Himuro smiled. "Sometimes I wonder the same thing."

Just as the two had broken into a friendly fit of laughter, they were instantly silenced by the piercing sound of the town hall's much-too-old speaker and sound system. A few moments later, Pelly could be heard from all corners of Kiseki.

"Excuse me! May I have your attention, please!" she spoke. "Today is the final Fishing Tournament before our summer season starts! Please be sure to participate! As always, for more information, please visit Chip in the town hall plaza for more details. That is all."

"Fishing Tournament?" Kagami asked. He looked over to Himuro. "I've heard about it, but what is it?"

Returning Kagami's glance with a confused expression, Himuro questioned, "Don't you remember, Kagami? There was a tournament held just last month. Did you not participate?"

"Was there really? Hmph. I must have been out of it that day, or something..." Trying to gather his thoughts as they crossed over the train tracks, Kagami curiously asked, "Who won?"

"Aomine. He always wins."

Kagami groaned irritably. "Really? That jerk won?"

Himuro nodded. "Yup. Every single time. For as long as I've lived here, at least. That reminds me... Kagami, there's something I want to talk to you about-"

"Hey, Himuro! Look at that!" Kagami shouted, excitedly pointing over to the giant tent that had been set up in the town hall plaza. "It's so cool! Let's go check it out! Oh, but...were you saying something?" He rubbed the back of his neck both embarrassedly and apologetically. "I'm sorry for interrupting you like that."

Himuro found Kagami's childish antics to be charming. Chuckling, he disregarded Kagami's words and said, "No, it was nothing. But yeah, we can go take a look, if you'd like."

* * *

"Greetings! My name is Chip, and I am the taste tester-I mean, coordinator for the Fishing Tournament!"

"Hello..." Kagami was a bit uncertain of this beaver character, but nonetheless, he proceeded to introduce himself. "I'm Kagami. I'm still relatively new to Kiseki Village, so this is my first time participating in one of these things."

"A first timer, nyuck nyuck? Well, you're in luck!" Chip said, eagerly patting Kagami on what was _supposed_ to be his back. However, with his height, Chip's hand had ended up falling a bit lower. This made Himuro snicker; this made Kagami blush. Not even noticing what he had done, Chip continued onward and said, "I'll tell you everything that you need to know about the tournament before you get started. First things first! Do you own a fishing rod?"

"Uh-yeah! I do," Kagami answered.

"Do you know how to utilize it?"

"Yes." Kagami could recall the memory of Tom Nook's lengthy explanation on how to work his rod. It was...a very long explanation.

"Great! I guess all you need to know now is what species of fish I'll be looking for today! Da, da da, da!" Chip sang. He pointed over to his easel. "I'm aiming for black basses. The person who catches the biggest - and by biggest, I mean length-wise - black bass and brings it back to me for tasting-I mean, testing-! The person who brings me the biggest black bass for testing and measuring before 6 P.M. this evening will be crowned this month's Fishing Tourney champion!"

"And it's gonna be me again."

"That voice..." Kagami hissed. It came from behind, but he could recognize that cocky tone from anywhere. Turning on his heel, Kagami folded his arms and stared down at that arrogant mug-of-an-expression with disdain. "Aomine..."

"Long time no see, Bakagami," Aomine cackled. "Though, I'm kinda grateful for that. I wouldn't wanna have to see your ugly face every day anyway."

"Why you-!" Kagami snarled, getting ready to pound Aomine right in the kisser. Luckily, Himuro was able to stop him.

"Kagami! It's not worth fighting over something like this!" he shouted sternly. "Besides, all you have to do is prove him wrong. Just win the tournament so that you can hold your head high with pride. That's all you've got to do, Kagami!"

Sighing, Kagami was able to cool his head pretty quickly. "Yeah, you're right..." Still, he shot Aomine a deathly glare. "But I've got my sights on you. You're going down, Ahomine. I'm going to be the champion of this Fishing Tournament."

Aomine laughed boisterously. "Oh yeah? You really think so? Let me tell you something, Bakagami..." An intimidating aura came about the wolf. Even though he was a foot shorter than him, Kagami still felt the sensation of being threatened. "The only one who can win the Fishing Tournament...is _**me**_."

With anger bubbling in his gut once more, it took everything in Kagami's power to hold himself back from the urge to slug Aomine's stupid, toothy grin right off of his face. However, that didn't stop him from shouting at the wolf as he strolled away. "Tch-! Oh yeah?! Well, not this time, Ahomine! Because today, the winner will be me!"

* * *

"Fishing is boring."

Both Kagami and Himuro now sat on the edge of the cobblestoned bridge, rods upright and bobbers bouncing in the water. Seeing as he was much taller than Himuro, Kagami's feet had ended up dipping into the river below. The cool water felt nice on his toes, but it didn't help the fact that he was slowly slipping into a pit of boredom.

"Kagami, it's only been twenty minutes," Himuro sighed. "You have to be patient."

"But how can I be patient, when that jerk face over there has already caught three black basses?!" Just across from where the river bent, Aomine's lure sunk into the water. Honing his skill, he whipped his rod back and reeled in yet _another_ black bass. "That makes four now! It's so unfair!"

"Just be patient, Kagami. I'm sure you'll catch one sooner or later."

But he didn't. Hours upon hours had passed, and both Kagami and Himuro were growing terribly weary.

"Himuro..." Kagami groaned absent-mindedly, "...what time is it?"

"It's 5:45 P.M.," Himuro answered, exhaling exhaustedly through his nostrils. "There's only fifteen minutes left of the tournament."

"Ugh..." Kagami moaned. "I should just give up already..." But just as he was about to pull his feet out of the water and climb back up onto the bridge, Kagami's fishing rod had jerked forward, nearly pulling him down with it. "Whoah!" he gasped. "H-Himuro, what should I do?!"

"Reel it in, Kagami!" Himuro ordered, jumping to his feet. "Quick, before it gets away!"

"R-right!" Doing as he was told, Kagami swung his rod backward, hooking his prey. Next, he rapidly began the process of reeling his fish in. _'Geez...'_ Kagami thought. _'It's so heavy!'_

"You can do it, Kagami!" Himuro cheered. "I can see it from up here! It's a-!"

Just before Himuro could finish his sentence, Kagami had yanked his rod back, forcing his catch to become airborne. Its greenish scales glistened in the light of the setting sun, making Kagami's eyes light up with glee. "It's a black bass!"

"Hurry, Kagami!" Himuro called. "Let's bring it to Chip, before the tournament is over!"

Fumbling to unhook his fish, Kagami hopped back up onto the bridge and followed Himuro as they both ran toward the town hall plaza.

"Oh no..." Kagami murmured.

"What? What is it?" Himuro frantically asked.

"It's that idiot... He's got a super big bass with him."

Himuro looked ahead to see what Kagami was talking about. Just as they had arrived at the tent, so had Aomine, with a monstrously large black bass slung over his shoulder.

"What's that, Bakagami?" Aomine scoffed. "A goldfish?"

"Shut up!" Kagami roared. "How do you know that my fish isn't longer than yours? Your black bass is just seriously obese!"

Himuro, seemingly the only one with a calm and collected head on his shoulders, walked over to Chip and asked, "Excuse me, but we're not too late, are we? The tournament hasn't ended yet, has it?"

"Nope!" Chip smiled. "You boys have made it just in time! But frankly...your efforts are in vain."

Both turning to face Chip at the same time, Kagami and Aomine wore a look of absolute confusion and disgust as they unanimously said, "Huh?"

Clucking his buck teeth nervously at their tense aura, Chip smiled and said, "Your fish are too small. The both of you."

"Ha? Even mine?" Aomine growled.

"Even yours. Someone has just brought me a black bass like no other, nyuck nyuck. It was _so_ delicious-I mean! It was _so_ big! It was 110 centimeters long! I couldn't believe it!"

"Th-that's incredible!" Kagami stammered with disbelief. "But if it wasn't Aomine...who was it? Who won?"

Clapping his hands together and slapping his beaver's tail against the stone-paved ground below, Chip smiled up at both of the boys and said, "This month's Fishing Tournament champion is none other than...Kuroko!"

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here with yet another chapter! :D_

_I really, really, **really** enjoyed writing this one. The rivalry between Kagami and Aomine was a lot of fun to capture, so I hope you've liked it!_

_Thank you very much for taking the time to read!_

_- Chappy_


	6. The Start of Summer

_Hey Mom, it's me again,_

_I can't believe it's already June 22nd._

_Are you excited for summer? Do you_

_and Dad have any special plans?_

_I wish I could be there. I want to surf._

_I don't think the beaches in Kiseki have_

_good waves like back at home._

_ Oh well. Love you, Taiga._

* * *

That morning, Kagami had awoken to something he hadn't encountered in quite some time: a very, very, _very_ itchy neck. "Tch, it's that time already, huh?" he sighed and climbed out of bed. Walking over his bedroom vanity - yes, he had purchased one of those - he took a look at himself in the mirror. He was instantly able to see the culprit to his itch: his hair was completely overgrown! "Geez...my hair really has gotten long, hasn't it?" Without a clue as to how to deal with this matter, Kagami did the one thing that he knew best... He went and asked Tom Nook for help.

After remodeling, Tom Nook was now the proud owner of a small convenience store called Nook 'n' Go. Every time Kagami stopped in the tiny shop, he could see a glint of pride sparkling in the raccoon's eyes. Today was no different. "Kagami!" Tom Nook said in amiable greeting. "How are you this fine summer day, ho, ho?"

"Not so good," Kagami answered honestly. "My neck is super itchy. I think I need to get a hair cut. That's why I came to see you."

"Hmm? Do I look like a barber to you, ho, ho?" Tom Nook questioned amusedly.

"No, no," Kagami said, correcting his prior statement by adding, "I didn't come here for that. I came here to ask you if you knew where I could go to get it cut. I don't think I've ever seen either a hair salon or a barber shop in Kiseki Village..."

"That's because we don't have one."

Shocked, Kagami made a noise that was a cross between a gasp and the word "what". "How is that possible? Don't you guys ever need hair-oh..."

Nodding, Tom Nook said, "I'm guessing by your cut-off sentence that you've come to realize it before I even had to speak. Us furry creatures don't typically need to get cuts or trims like you humans do. Midorima and Himuro don't even have fur! Although, I do know that Kise travels out of town every few weeks or so for a spa day of grooming and pampering, but other than him, we all just rough it and brush our own fur, ho, ho."

Scratching the back of his neck, which then led to more scratching, Kagami sighed, "Well, thanks anyway. I guess I'll have to be like you guys and rough it."

"Now that I think about it..." Tom Nook hummed, "I don't think that will be necessary."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, if I recall correctly, there was a time that my nephew, Timmy, had a snarl in his fur."

Not understanding what Tom Nook was getting at, Kagami provoked him to go on. "Yeah, and?"

"Ho, ho, he paid a quick visit to the only person in our town who owns a pair of scissors."

"...And who would that be?"

* * *

"Welcome to my home, _Taiga_."

Swallowing back a gulp, Kagami no longer felt the itch on his neck, but rather, it had been replaced by goosebumps. If he would have had the choice, he would have turned back and ran for home. But his hair...it was just too long for him to be comfortable in this heat - and it was only the first day of summer!

"Th-thank you for having me...Akashi."

With his tail swaying back and forth in a pentameter type of fashion, Akashi smiled and ushered Kagami inside. "It's my pleasure. Now, to make things clear, you're here for a haircut, correct?"

Stepping through the low-set doorway, Kagami asked, "Wait, how did you know that?"

"Tom gave me a call to let me know you were coming. That's why I've already prepared everything." Using his tail, Akashi pointed towards his amateur set up. Off in the corner of his dwelling sat a chair with a towel draped over the back. Also, from what Kagami could see, there was a silver-plated tray placed on top of a cherrywood bureau with, you guessed it, a pair of scissors laying right in the middle of it. "Go ahead. Have a seat."

Complying, Kagami walked across the room and sat down. "Are you sure you know how to do this?" he asked. "I mean, cutting hair is a little different than getting a snarl out of a raccoon's tail..."

Running the pads of his paw over the scissor blades, Akashi smiled and inquired, "Do you question my skill? Do you not trust me, Taiga?"

_'Yes and yes. I question your skill and I very much do not trust you.'_

"No, that's not it, it's just-"

"Then, there's no problem, is there?" Akashi interrupted. Taking the scissors into his grasp, he opened the blades and held them before his heterochromatic eyes. "Allow me to do you this favor, Taiga. Free of charge."

Kagami had a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, the same kind of feeling you get after you drink spoiled milk or eat an expired potato chip. "Just don't...please don't cut it too, too short, alright?"

"Yes, of course," Akashi affirmed, running his claws through Kagami's hair to get a feeling of how thick it was. "Now, sit back and relax."

Kagami sat back, but there was absolutely no way that he was relaxed.

* * *

After a few minutes of silent snipping and snapping, a thought had dawned on him. "Say, Akashi...?"

"Yes?" Akashi responded in question.

"Do you know anything about someone named Kuroko?"

"Of course. He and I are rather close, actually. I guess you could call it a bond between felines. What makes you ask?"

"Well, he won the Fishing Tournament last month, so...wait, what?" Kagami started. "Kuroko is a cat, too?"

"Indeed, he is. However, he and I are nothing alike."

This statement confused Kagami. "Didn't you just say that you two were close?"

"Just because two people are opposites," Akashi breathed, "doesn't mean that they won't be attracted towards one another. I find Kuroko to be pleasantly charming."

"Charming...? Like Kise?"

"No, no, nothing like Kise. That pup is nothing but a headache after a candy rush."

* * *

"..._'choo!_"

"Hey, Kise, you're not catching a cold, are ya?" Aomine snarled. "I don't want you getting your germs on me."

"How mean-ssu!" Kise whined. "Someone's probably just talking about me!"

"Eh...I wonder who."

"Mmn, mmn. Me, too."

* * *

"Then..." Kagami urged, "couldn't you at least tell me what he's like?"

"I've already given you one favor today; I don't plan on giving you a second," Akashi replied, setting his scissors down onto the tray. "And speaking of which, I've just finished."

"D-did you really? How does it look?"

"See for yourself. The mirror is right over there."

Getting up in such a hurry that he had almost knocked the chair over, Kagami made his way toward the mirror. His heart was pounding and pumping every step of the way. _'Please...please let my hair look okay...'_

When his reflection had finally come into view, Kagami gasped and shouted, "Oh my God!"

"Please don't use such language under my roof," Akashi hissed. "It's distasteful."

"I-I'm sorry, but it's just...I just...you just..." It was apparent that Kagami was having a little bit of trouble speaking his mind.

"Blabbering like that is also repulsive."

Kagami took in a deep, deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's _great_," he finally said. "It's probably the best hair cut I've ever gotten."

Not only had Kagami's hair been trimmed to perfection, but it had also been styled quite nicely, as well; better than anything he could ever do on his own. His bangs had been shaped, his top hairs delicately snipped, and the back of his neck felt relief with hair no longer tickling and itching him. Was Akashi a god?

"Had you expected anything less of me?" Akashi purred.

"No..." It was a lie, but Kagami just went along with it anyways.

"Good," Akashi smiled, but it didn't last for long at all. Something about his demeanor had changed, forcing Kagami to feel very off-put. Meeting with the feline's red and yellow gaze, Kagami swallowed when Akashi had added, "Because if you had, I must say that I find it very rude, Taiga."

"I-I didn't! I didn't!" Kagami stated defensively. "You're very talented with scissors! Very, very talented!"

"I know," Akashi agreed, regaining a sense of normalcy, albeit arrogant, about him. "You can take your leave now, Taiga. There are a few things I had planned today, and I'm sure you've got your share of errands, too. Besides, cutting your hair was not something that I had in mind, and it's already thrown me off of my schedule."

Bowing his head in gratitude, Kagami said, "Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do a favor for me. I will never forget the kindness you have expressed."

"I'm glad to hear that, Taiga," Akashi grinned, "because I won't let you forget it, either."

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! :D_

_I finally got to write a chapter with more of Akashi! I hope you've enjoyed it!_

_Thank you for taking the time to read! (:_

_- Chappy_


	7. Heartfelt Goodbyes

_Hey Mom,_

_Today is July 4th, right?_

_Back home, you and Dad are probably_

_having a big celebration. I'm a bit jealous._

_Light up the sky, will you? If it shines brightly_

_enough, I just might be able to see it from here._

_ I'm serious. Love you, Taiga._

* * *

Three days prior: July 1st

* * *

Kagami's day had begun in a mundane manner. It wasn't until he had met up with Himuro for fossil hunting that his mood had been lifted. "Hey, Himuro!" he called out. "Look at this one!"

Sticking his shovel in the ground, Himuro went over to where Kagami stood, ogling over his find. "Would you look at that," Himuro stated in amazement. "It looks like amber, or something."

"Doesn't it?" Kagami asked, smiling eagerly. "I'd have to ask Blathers to make sure, but it's so exciting! I don't know whether I want to donate it or keep it for myself!"

"If you donate it, then everyone in Kiseki will be able to enjoy it," Himuro explained. "Don't you think that's a better way to go about things?"

Hearing Himuro out, Kagami nodded and agreed, "Yeah, you're right. I think I'll go to the museum to have it appraised right now! Do you want to come with me, Himuro?"

The childish sparkle in Kagami's eyes made Himuro's heart feel like it was beginning to sink. _'I have to tell him...' _he thought. _'It won't be easy, but...'_

When Himuro didn't answer right away, Kagami grew concerned. "Is something the matter?" he asked. "You looked like you remembered something really sad just now."

Sighing through the nostrils of his beak, Himuro shook his head and said, "Kagami, I don't know how to tell you this, but...I'm thinking about leaving Kiseki."

Kagami felt himself freeze. He could feel his heart skip a beat, and felt it as his eyes stung with the threat of tearing up. "What...are you talking about, Himuro? What are you even saying?" he asked.

"I'm moving, Kagami," Himuro affirmed. "On the 4th of July, I'm boarding the last train and I'm leaving Kiseki Village."

"Why?!" Kagami shouted. "Why would you leave?! Don't you like it here?"

"I do, Kagami, I really do, but...it's my time to go. I've already made up my mind, so please don't make things harder than they have to be-"

"Forget it!" Kagami interrupted. "If you want to go, then go. There's no one stopping you..."

"Kagami..." Himuro sighed. He placed his wing gently upon the boy's shoulder, "I know you're angry, and I realize now that I should have told you sooner, but this is something that's been on my mind for nearly a month now."

"A month...? You've been thinking about this for a whole month?" Kagami asked. At that moment, his throat had run dry.

Himuro nodded. "Please don't take this personally, Kagami. You and I, we're friends, right? It's never easy to say goodbye to your friends."

"If it's not easy for you, then why-"

Unexpectedly, Himuro spread his wings open and wide. It was a notion that sent feathers flying into the air. It was so sudden that it had even startled Kagami a bit. "Why is it that you left your hometown, Kagami?" he asked sympathetically.

Kagami knew that he could answer Himuro's question with one word only, and it was that alone that made him realize why he was doing this. "Adventure..." Kagami whispered. "I wanted an adventure."

"Exactly," Himuro smiled. "So please, won't you allow me the same freedom?"

* * *

"Ehhh?! Seriously?! Himurocchi is moving-ssu?!" Kise gasped.

"That's what I said, yeah..."

Kagami and Kise had crossed paths within the Kiseki Museum, and after a few words of greeting were exchanged, they decided to stop into The Roost and continue their conversation over a cup of coffee.

"It's such a shame..." Kise sighed. "Himurocchi has been living here for as long as I can remember. I wonder if Murasakicchi knows."

"He said that he had wanted to tell me first. After we parted ways, I think he was planning on giving the news to Murasakibara, who would then pass the information on to Akashi, then to Midorima, and so on and so forth."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around this," Kise slumped. "What was his reasoning again-ssu?"

"It's a good reason," Kagami huffed, leaning back in his chair. "He wants to embark on an adventure."

"An adventure? But isn't that why you...?"

"Yeah..." Kagami chuckled wryly. "I guess it's the same reason I gave my parents in order for them to let me go."

Gasping so loudly and so suddenly that Kagami had nearly snorted his coffee, Kise slammed his paws down onto the counter and barked, "I have a plan!"

"Geez! What is it? Why did you have to shout like that?" Kagami scowled.

"Let's have a going-away party for Himurocchi! One where we invite the entire town-ssu! We can have cake and sing songs and-oh! We can shoot off fireworks!"

Kagami's eyes lit up at the mention of the latter. "Fireworks?"

Nodding eagerly, Kise said, "Mmn, mmn! It'll be lots of fun!"

"Do you think Himuro would like that?"

"We won't know until we see his reaction! We're going to make it a surprise!"

"Wha-! Really?" Kagami stammered. "Do you think we can pull it off?"

"Of course we can!" Leaning in close, Kise pressed his paw to the tip of Kagami's nose. "We've just got to make sure that no one lets Himuro in on the secret."

* * *

Present day: July 4th

* * *

"Aominecchi just told me that everything is all set up, Kagamicchi!" Kise giggled. "Everyone's waiting down by the beach. This is going to be so exciting-ssu!"

Kagami helped Kise hop across the rails as they crossed the train tracks. "It's bittersweet, though. After all, this is Himuro's goodbye party..."

"Ka~ga~mi~cchi," Kise sang, and patted the side of the boy's leg, "look on the bright side! When Himurocchi wakes up in his new bed in his new town tomorrow, he's going to have a really good memory of tonight and all of the times he's spent with us here in Kiseki!"

Reminiscing on some of those memories briefly, Kagami smiled and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Hey, and Kise?"

Kise's ears perked up and he looked over to Kagami. "Yes-ssu?"

Scratching the back of his neck, Kagami overcame his embarrassment and said, "You know...thanks for setting this whole thing up. I mean, Himuro's my good friend and all, so...I feel like it's something _I_ should have organized, or at least helped with."

Kise shook his head. "Oh, Kagamicchi, it's nothing! Himurocchi is an important friend to all of us! It's true! I invited every single person that lives here in Kiseki, and they all said they would be there tonight."

"Even Kuroko?" Kagami had shocked himself by even asking such a question. I mean, asking about someone you hadn't even personally met yet? Wasn't that a bit...odd?

Kise paused the conversation to collect his thoughts. Looking at the expansive path before them, he smiled sweetly and answered, "Kurokocchi will definitely be there, too."

* * *

"Well, hello there, whippersnapper! Har, har! I don't think we've ever met before!"

"Um..." Kagami stammered, "no... I don't think we have, Mr. Mayor..."

"Of course we haven't!" the old turtle cackled. "I would have definitely remembered a youthful face like yours. Well, enough of that. I'm Tortimer, the mayor here in Kiseki Village. And you are Kagami, yes?"

"Yeah, that's me."

Tortimer nodded. "Good, good. So tell me, Kagami, who is it that you admire most? Your mother? Your father? Maybe even your very own mayor?"

_'What a weird thing to ask...'_ Kagami thought. He could tell from the glint within Tortimer's aged eyes that he was hoping for the latter most of answers, but if he wanted to make a good first impression of himself, he had to be honest. "My mom. She's...she's the best. She was always there for me, when I needed her. She even taught me how to surf! Ah, that was the best-uh...?"

Something about the mayor's demeanor had changed. He looked distant, almost as if Kagami had trampled on his hopes and dreams, or something. Then suddenly, he spoke up again. "I see, I see. So you're a Mama's boy, yes?"

Kagami blushed a brilliant red. "Nah, I wouldn't go that far..."

"No need to be embarrassed, har, har! A boy who loves his mother is a boy with a gentle heart. Be proud of it, not modest."

A bit dumbfounded, Kagami merely agreed and said, "Sure...I'll remember that."

Suddenly, Kise started to make a ruckus when he began to shout and jump about. "He's coming, everyone! He's coming-ssu!"

Off in the distance, Himuro and Murasakibara could be seen descending from the beach's cliff. Murasakibara looked like he would rather be in bed, but Himuro wore a look of terrible confusion. "Murasakibara, what is all of this? Why is everyone all gathered like this?"

"Ha? You haven't realized it yet?" Murasakibara yawned.

"Um, no?"

"It's your goodbye party. Everyone is getting ready to say goodbye to you."

"My what-?!"

_One, two, three..._

"**SURPRISE**!"

Party poppers and confetti were burst into Himuro's face, decking his feathers out with glitz and glitter. Stunned, he stepped back a bit and shook his head to clear his beak of the streamers.

Practically bouncing out of his fur, Kise jumped excitedly around Himuro and asked, "Were you surprised, Himurocchi? Did we surprise you? Were you surprised-ssu?"

Himuro was speechless. "I..."

"You were totally surprised, right? Right?" Kise's tail was wagging so violently that Aomine has succumb to temptation and bent over and bit it. "Yowch!"

"Let the guy get two words out, idiot," Aomine growled.

"You're being noisy, nanodayo," Midorima input.

"With good reason," Akashi added. "After all, we're all very curious."

"I..." Himuro repeated, still unable to cope with everything that was happening. "I...don't know what to say..."

"Say you're surprised! Say you're surprised!" Kise yipped.

"I-I am," Himuro answered. "I'm very surprised..."

"I knew it!" Kise barked. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it-ow! Ow, ow, ow!" Again, Aomine had took a chomp out of Kise, but only this time, it was his ear that he was biting.

Surveying all of the friendly - and not-so-friendly - faces that were waiting for him to speak, Himuro gulped and asked, "This is all...for me?"

Stepping forward and towering over all of the others, Kagami smiled and said, "Yeah, it is. It's all thanks to Kise that we're here, too. He organized the entire thing."

Shifting his weight from foot to foot as he swayed bashfully, Kise chuckled lightly and murmured, "I told you that it was nothing, you know..."

"Don't call it nothing."

Kise's head snapped up at the harsh tone that Himuro had used. What he saw next not only made him worry, but it made everyone worry.

"H-hey!" Aomine stuttered.

"How unsightly, nanodayo," Midorima huffed.

"Muro-chin, why are you crying?" Murasakibara yawned, this being the second time now.

Flapping his feathers before his eyes, Himuro tried to dry his tears without actually having to touch them. "I'm sorry, everyone. It's just that this...this is...it's..."

"You can say it, Himuro," Kagami laughed amiably. "We won't judge."

"It's..." Himuro began again, "...it's the nicest thing that's ever been done for me."

The unanimous "awe" that came over the crowd was enough to make the usually firm-footed eagle feel flushed.

"We're not done yet, Himurocchi!" Kise giggled. "We still have one last surprise!"

"What? Another sur-?"

_**BOOM!**_

A burst of technicolor overtook the sky above, forcing all heads to eagerly turn towards the ocean. Another firework had popped, then another and another. The show was absolutely spectacular. For being relatively low budget - low budget meaning no budget - the fireworks display had lasted for a good five minutes.

"That was awesome!" Kise beamed. "It was awesome, it was awesome-ssu!"

"I have to admit," Aomine snickered, "it was pretty cool."

"It was mildly entertaining, nanodayo," Midorima nodded.

"The colors were positively captivating," Akashi agreed.

"Can I have cake now?" Murasakibara asked.

* * *

Looking to the empty sky while the others enjoyed their cake, Kagami sighed peacefully. He was in such a daze that he hadn't realized Himuro had been trying to get his attention. "Oh! Whoah! Sorry about that, man. Were you saying something?"

Chuckling at Kagami's reaction, Himuro said, "I was. I was telling you that I have something I'd like to give to you."

"To me?" Kagami asked. "What is it?"

"Here," Himuro offered, handing Kagami an 8x10 picture frame. "It's my picture. This way, you'll be able to remember me even when I'm gone. I even wrote a little message for you on the back."

Flipping the frame over, Kagami's eyes scanned over what had been written. He soon felt as if a lump had formed in his throat. "Like I'd ever be able to forget you, geez," Kagami scoffed, not even bothering to fight the tears as they began to bubble.

"Come here," Himuro smiled, opening his wings wide for Kagami to enter. After they shared their brief embrace, Himuro added, "I'll never forget you, either. You're my friend-no. You're my _best _friend. And Kagami, always remember..."

_'Life is an adventure!'_

* * *

After the festivities had dwindled to a close, and Himuro had taken his leave to catch the last train before it departed, Kagami met up with Kise to help him clean up the left over streamers and cake plates. "Hey, Kise?" he began to ask, looking towards the pup as he scampered about the sand.

Kise stopped what he was doing and turned his attention over at Kagami. "Hmm? What is it, Kagamicchi?"

"Didn't you say that Kuroko would be here tonight? I didn't see him at all. Did he change his mind about coming, or something?"

The baffled expression that Kise gave Kagami made him feel like an idiot. "Kagamicchi..." he whispered, "Kurokocchi had been here the entire time."

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! :D_

_Another new chapter for **Kagami no Crossing**! I hope you're enjoying it! (:_

_Kuroko really is a mystery, huh? Or maybe he's just not the life of the party. :P_

_Thank you for taking the time to read! I can't believe that the next chapter is going to be chapter 8 already! :D_

_- Chappy_


	8. The Storm of the Century!

_Hey, Mom,_

_I got your letter. You really didn't have_

_to send me money (but thank you - I could_

_really use it). I've paid off a few of my_

_mortgages now, so my house has gotten a_

_little bigger._

_ Maybe you and Dad could visit? Taiga._

* * *

"Thank you for stopping by, but you should consider heading home soon, Kagami," Pelly said, carefully placing Kagami's letters in the "to-be-sent" pile.

Her concerned look confused Kagami and prompted him to ask, "Why? Is something the matter?"

"You didn't hear? A huge storm is rolling in! Katrina predicted that it would uproot trees and tear the siding off of houses..."

"Katrina...the fortune teller?" Kagami questioned slowly. It was clear that he was a sceptic. Not only that, but a quick look outside showed no threat of this "disaster storm" that was _supposedly_ pending.

"Katrina has never been wrong about these sorts of things, so please get home," Pelly instructed, a tad desperately at that. "I would hate for you to be stuck outside when it finally comes!"

After getting verbally shooed out of the town hall, Kagami sighed and ruffled his hair. "Was she really being serious just now? There's not even a cloud in the sk-" He gulped back his words. Though not menacing in nature, clouds of puffy white had suddenly popped up like popcorn. To Kagami, they even started to _look _like popcorn. "Geez, now I'm getting hungry..." he groaned.

* * *

"You should be home, nanodayo."

Taking a big bite out of his sandwich, Kagami looked over at Midorima as he chewed. After swallowing, he asked, "Why? Because of the storm?"

"Precisely, yes."

"There's not going to be any storm. You guys are just being too cautious." He took another bite. "And besides, the sky isn't even all that bad-" By now, the "popcorn" clouds had turned into "mashed potato" clouds.

"Caution has nothing to do with it," Midorima protested. "Katrina is never wrong. If she's predicted it, it will come true."

"Yeah, okay," Kagami sighed. He crumpled up his sandwich bag and shoved it into his pocket. "And let me guess, that pinwheel that you're holding, it's your lucky item, right?"

"Wrong. It's yours." Handing the pinwheel over to Kagami, Midorima explained, "I figured you wouldn't have it with you, so I took it upon myself to bring it here."

Flicking the wings of the wheel, Kagami clicked his tongue and responded, "Well, thanks, but you really didn't have to do that. I don't buy into all of this voodoo stuff."

Kagami watched as Midorima's expression turned from a serious frown into a scowl. "It's not voodoo. It's fate. It's _destiny_, nanodayo."

"Whatever you say," Kagami sighed for the umpteenth time. "Whatever you say."

* * *

_3 hours later_

* * *

In a matter of minutes, the sky had opened up and rain came pouring down. What had once been a portrait of lovely mashed potatoes was now a sea of utter darkness. All power had been knocked out, and Kagami was pretty sure that, in the distance, he had heard a tree or two fall over. But where was he right now, you ask?

"Don't breathe on the candles like that, idiot."

"I'm not breathing on them! Flames have a tendency to flicker, you know."

He was taking refuge in Aomine's basement.

* * *

Here's how it played out:

Even after the air had turned soupy, and countless of other townspeople had warned him of the storm, Kagami still didn't believe them. It wasn't until the first few raindrops had begun to fall that he ran into none other than that arrogant wolf, Aomine.

"What're you doin' outside still, Bakagami? Didn't you hear about the storm?" Aomine scoffed.

"'Course I've heard about it. I just don't care to believe it," Kagami grumbled.

"You don't care to believe it? What'd'ya mean? It's not like this is just some made up story."

"But it is," Kagami noted. "All of you guys are worried over something that's probably just going to turn out to be a normal thunderstorm and nothing more. It's a waste of time. I have things to-" A soft rumble of thunder cut through his sentence.

Growling, Aomine snatched Kagami's hand and began to drag him in the direction towards his house. "Look, I'm not doing you a favor here, or anything like that. I'd just hate to see an idiot like you get drowned like a rat out here, when things get serious."

And things got "serious" pretty fast. By the time they had reached Aomine's small cabin, they were soaked through and through. Kagami's bangs stuck to his forehead like glue, and Aomine's fur felt soppy and wet to the core. Both of them felt absolutely dreadful.

Cue thirty minutes later, and there they sat, drying off with towels and candle light in the safety - but not in the serenity - of Aomine's basement.

* * *

The wind howled and moaned outside, and even with being all the way downstairs, Kagami could distinctly make out the sound of Aomine's shutters slamming against the side of his house. "You probably should have shut your shutters, before the storm started," he mentioned.

"Shut up! I can't think of everything, you know," Aomine snarled.

"It'll be your own fault if they're not there, when the storm's over."

"I don't need your sass, Bakagami, so just be quiet."

After that, silence loomed over the duo for quite some time. One of the only ways Kagami could tell that Aomine was still there was by the way that his tail flopped against the stone flooring in order to get it to dry faster. Kagami himself had took to using one of the towels to dry off his hair...again.

A surprise to both of them, Aomine was the first to talk. The bigger surprise, however, was what he had said. "So...I heard that you're interested in Kuroko."

Kagami had nearly bit his tongue, with the way that he rushed to deny Aomine's statement. "Wh-what?! I'm not interested in him! It's just..."

"I get it," Aomine interrupted. He reluctantly took a seat next to Kagami on the floor. "He's a fascinating guy. He rarely ever comes outside, and when he does, it's hard to get an impression of him. I mean, that alone can make you wonder."

Fitting his hands into his lap, Kagami asked, "Are you and Kuroko close?"

Aomine laughed a bit wryly. "We used to be. Not anymore."

"Oh? Did something happen? Did you two get in a fight?"

Waving a paw to dismiss Kagami's questions, Aomine said, "Nah, nothing like that. I guess, if you could put words to what had happened, we kind of just...grew apart."

Kagami could relate to this. Back in L.A., he had gone through many friendships, some lasting longer than others, but most just fizzling out. "Do you think that he and I would get along?" Kagami asked. "I mean, I still haven't even met him...and I've already been living here for quite a while."

Aomine gave Kagami a snotty once over, much like he did upon their first meeting. "You're a doofus," he stated, to which Kagami had almost thrown a fit, "but you're just the type of guy that I could see Kuroko hanging out and having a good time with."

* * *

It took about an hour or so for the storm to completely die down, and once it was over, Kagami and Aomine climbed back upstairs and took a look outside. Upon seeing the destruction that had taken place, Kagami could only think of one thing: Katrina had been right.

Leaves and branches littered the ground, while a few small and under developed trees had toppled over like building blocks.

"Aw, crap," Aomine cussed, surveying the damage to his own house. "My shutters are gone!"

"Told you," Kagami snickered.

"Oh, you hush up," Aomine growled. "I bet your house is worse for wear, too."

"Doubt it. Mr. Nook does an excellent job, when he's remolding my home. He makes sure that everything is super secure and in place." Boasting about his realtor/former employer gave Kagami a sense of pride. It felt nice to give the man some credit for all of the hard work that he had done.

"Secure and in place..." Aomine repeated, almost as if a daunting thought had occurred to him. "I've gotta go."

"Huh-what? Where are you going?" Kagami called after him, seeing as Aomine has already bolted off into some unknown direction.

"I've gotta make sure that Kuroko is alright," Aomine called back.

"What do you mean by that? Doesn't he have a basement?"

"He does, but his house is the oldest one in Kiseki. I wouldn't doubt it if it's been reduced to shambles."

* * *

Grateful that only a few portions of the siding had been blown off, Aomine breathed a sigh of relief. "Looks like even old houses can withstand disaster storms, huh?"

"Is Kuroko in there?" Kagami asked.

"Hey! Why did you follow me all the way out here, idiot?!" Aomine barked. He hadn't suspected that he was being followed.

"I was worried, too. But that doesn't answer my question." Kagami fit his hands into the pockets of his shorts. "Is he in there?"

"Probably not, but I can check."

As Aomine was knocking on the door, Kagami found himself a bit confused by Aomine's statement. "What do you mean that he's probably not in there? We just had a really big storm!"

Still knocking, Aomine replied, "Yeah, but Kuroko hates to go through these kinds of things alone. My guess is that he's either at Kise's place or with Akashi."

"Oh, I see..." Kagami responded, and allowed himself to ponder for a moment. _'Not very sociable, rarely goes outside, and now I've learned that he's afraid of storms...I wonder what else this guy is like.'_

After a minute of constant knocking, Aomine shook out his paw and stepped off Kuroko's door step. Motioning for Kagami to follow, he began, "You know, I really meant what I said earlier."

"Huh?" Kagami wasn't exactly sure what Aomine was referring to.

"You know, about the whole you and Kuroko hanging out thing. I meant it."

"Okay, so...? Why are you bringing it up?"

For a moment, Kagami could have sworn that Aomine had looked something akin to depressed or melancholy. It wasn't until their gazes had met that Kagami could tell that what Aomine was about to say was something serious. "I may not have always been there for him, but that doesn't mean that I've altogether stopped caring about him."

"Well, that's apparent," Kagami input. "You practically ran over here to make sure that his house was okay."

"That's not what I'm getting at," Aomine sighed. "What I mean is, when you two _do _become friends someday, which I know you will, it's practically inevitable, I only have one thing to ask of you."

With a raised brow, Kagami questioned, "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

Lowering his snout, Aomine exhaled slowly and shook his head. "You better not hurt him the way that I did."

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! :D_

_I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! I know I had fun writing it, haha!_

_Thank you for taking the time to read! (:_

_- Chappy_


	9. It's My Birthday?

_Hey, Mom,_

_You'll never guess what happened_

_today. I forgot my own birthday._

_Yup, you heard-or rather, read that_

_right. Can you believe it? Don't worry,_

_I'm not developing memory loss. I've_

_just been really busy trying to get my house_

_paid off, you know?_

_ At least my neighbors remembered. Taiga._

* * *

_Earlier that day_

* * *

The day was Friday, and the date was August 2nd. Kagami was eager to get outside and relish in the fresh air. Not only that, but now that it was August, larger fish, as well as sharks, had become much more abundant. With this frame of mind, Kagami was able to put into perspective just how fast he'd be able to repay his home loan, if he were to catch as many of these sea creatures as possible.

"I think I have everything..." he spoke to himself, checking his tackle box for the third time over. Kagami had just about stepped through the front door, when there were three swift knocks on it. Upon opening, Kagami had been greeted by both a high-pitched squeal and a pair of deeply disinterested eyes. "Kise? Midorima?"

"Kagamicchi!" Kise yipped. "Aren't you excited-ssu?!"

Confused, Kagami mounted his fishing pole over his shoulder and asked, "About what? Fishing? Well, yeah, I guess I'm kind of excited."

"That's not what he meant, nanoda-" Midorima had begun to say, but Kise quickly cut him off.

"Oh, I see!" Kise smiled. "Well then, we'll be going now! Catch you later, Kagamicchi! Haha, get it? It's a pun on fishing!" Grabbing a hold of Midorima's hand, he pulled the tiny frog off to somewhere unknown.

"Wait, Kise-hey!" Midorima complained, trying to fight off the all-too-anxious pup. "Don't pull me so forcefully, nanodayo!"

_'Well, that was...odd. Hm. Whatever,'_ Kagami mused, and with a shrug of his shoulders, he collected up the rest of his fishing equipment and headed for the beach. Upon his arrival, he immediately noticed something that wasn't quite right...at all.

Laying limply, and presumably lifeless, on the sandy shoreline of the beach was a seagull. It wasn't like any of the seagulls that Kagami had known from back in Los Angeles; no, this seagull was much bigger. Kagami couldn't really tell from where he was standing, but this bird appeared to be about the same size as someone like Pelly, or even Pete, the delivery pelican whom he had met on more than one occasion. Curious, Kagami cautiously made his way over to where the seagull laid.

Upon further inspection, Kagami was relieved to see that the gull wasn't dead, but merely unconscious. "Um..." he said aloud, wondering if the creature could hear him. "Hello?" He received a snore in response. "_Hello_?" Kagami elongated. At this, the seagull's eyelids began to flutter, and just a moment later, he'd nearly given Kagami a heart attack when his eyes suddenly popped open.

"Eh-?! Where am I? What is this place?" the seagull asked, gaining his balance and propping himself up onto his feet.

"Uh, you're in Kiseki Village," Kagami answered. It wasn't until he had seen the gull's apparent confusion that he began to wonder. "Did you fall asleep here, or did you seriously just wash up onto the shore like this."

Knocking some water out of his ear, the seagull said, "I'm pretty sure it's the second one. The last thing I remember, I was traveling to a distant land that is famous for their Hollywood movie productions. That wouldn't be here, would it?"

Shaking his head no, Kagami said, "No, that's not here at all. The place you're thinking of is America, more specifically, Los Angeles." Rubbing the back of his neck a tad bashfully, he added, "I grew up there, so I would know."

"How interesting!" the seagull exclaimed. "I must journey there at once! Oh, but...I've lost my boat."

Kagami felt bad for the traveling bird, however, it wasn't too long before he came up with an idea. Pointing up to the cliffside, he said, "You know, if you climb this cliff and head north all the way to the edge of town, there's a train station. I'm sure it would be a lot less risky than having to travel by boat, anyways."

The gull held his wing up as if to protest Kagami's idea. "I thank you for your amiable offer, but my heart is at sea. It is where I need to be in order to feel like my adventures have been fulfilled."

_'Ah, so this guy is on an adventure of his own,' _Kagami thought, afterward verbalizing, "I totally get where you're coming from. I'm on a personal adventure, too."

"Is there anything more thrilling?" the seagull inquired. "Anything more thrilling than the world of the unknown?"

Kagami shook his head to this. "Absolutely not."

* * *

"Thank you for stopping by!" Mabel, the kindly hedgehog, smiled. "Please come again, Kagami!"

Just about pushing open the door to their quaint clothing shop, Kagami smiled back at her and waved his hand. "I'll be sure to. Thank you for taking the extra time to make clothes that fit my, erm, you know...my size."

"It's our pleasure!" Mabel giggled, before turning her attention over to her sister, Sabel. "Isn't it, sis?"

Avidly working her sewing machine, Sabel, a well-reserved seamstress, had barely given a nod of recognition at her sister's words. Truthfully, it had shocked Kagami that she had even muttered a gentle, "Yes..." in response.

"Well, I'll be off now," Kagami said, a small bell clinking over the top of the door to announce his exit.

Slinging the bags containing his purchases over his shoulder, Kagami exhaled a lengthy breath. He even kicked a few rocks along his way, watched them roll, then once he was close enough, kicked them again. During his walk, it had dawned on him that he was having trouble shaking the thought that he was forgetting something terribly important. _'It's not like there's any town events today,'_ he mused. _'If there were, Pelly would have announced it. I'm probably just over thinking things again. But then again...why did Kise and Midorima show up at my doorstep this morning?'_

_'Kagamicchi! Aren't you excited-ssu?!'_

"Excited..." Kagami sighed. "Now I'm really beginning to wonder what he meant by that." Readjusting his bags and looking up the road, he was just about able to spot out Kise's house in the distance. "I should go ask him. It's gonna bug me all day, if I don't."

* * *

Knocking lightly on Kise's front door, Kagami waited a few moments before calling out to him. "Kise? Are you in there? You're home, right?" When no response was granted, he tried knocking again.

"Shhh!" was what Kagami could hear from beyond the other side of the door, along with the sound of muffled giggling.

_'Huh? What's going on?'_ Suddenly, the door flew open and Kagami was whisked inside without a moment to spare.

The room was dark and the curtains had been drawn shut. Even though it was clearly by Kise's paw that he had been dragged inside, Kagami knew that they were not alone. He could sense more than two presences, and when the light flipped on, he saw that he was right.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday-" and then an array of the different names Kagami had been called by each.

Mouth agape, he stuttered, "Uh, uh, uh..."

"Only a fool would forget his own day of birth, nanodayo," Midorima scoffed, pushing up his glasses.

"Midorimacchi! That's rude-ssu!" Kise whined. "Kagamicchi has been really busy lately! He probably has a lot on his mind!"

"Tch, I agree with Midorima," Aomine snickered. "Only a true idiot would forget their birthday."

Mindlessly watching as the three began to quarrel, Kagami found that he was still very much speechless. _'My birthday...? Today...is my birthday? That's what I've been forgetting? How could I...how could I be so...so...'_

"Stupid..." Kagami muttered, coaxing the unwarranted attention of the trio. Without warning, he burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Kagamicchi...?" Kise questioned worriedly. "Did...did something happen? What's so funny?"

"You didn't give him anything weird to eat, did you, Kise?" Aomine asked.

"I didn't! He's doing it all on his own!"

Waving his hand to dismiss the both of them, Kagami attempted to explain what was going through his mind, but it was an effortless struggle. He was laughing just too dang hard. Minutes later, he was finally able to catch his breath and speak coherent words. "I...I am stupid! I'm as stupid as can be! One-hundred percent stupid!"

"Hah! See? So he agrees!" Aomine howled, triumphantly digging his claws into Kise's tail.

"Hey, hey!" Kise barked, swatting the wolf away from him.

Feeding a hand through his hair, Kagami breathed a sigh of humility and shook his head. "Geez, I can't believe it. My own birthday...what a joke."

Once free from Aomine's grasp, Kise smiled sheepishly and stepped closer to Kagami. "You know, it's kind of a good thing that you forgot. It's made your surprise party all the more exciting, hasn't it?"

Nodding down at the perky little pup, Kagami said, "It has," before fitting his hands into his hips and asking, "And just how did you plan this all on your own? And so quickly, too!"

"I wasn't alone-ssu! Aominecchi and Midorimacchi were eager to help me!" Kise cheered.

"We were not!" Aomine and Midorima denied in unison, though it was clear from their rosy complexions that they were spewing fibs.

Unable to wipe the smile from his lips, Kagami chuckled and pat all three of their heads. The gesture had been mostly out of gratitude, but he would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy being the tallest resident in Kiseki, either. "Thank you, guys. Really...thanks."

* * *

Kagami's party lasted for a good three hours. They shared stories, ate cake, and exchanged presents. Kagami received an kiwi stool from Kise, a mini dharma from Midorima, and a pair of hipster glasses from Aomine. By the time they had all parted ways, Kagami was more exhausted than he had been in a very long time. Oh, but exhaustion was a small price to pay for having one of the best nights ever. _'Living here...'_ he thought, as he began to unlock his door, _'...is nice.'_

Just as he was about to enter his home, Kagami heard the distinct sound of large, flapping wings, followed by Pete calling his name. "Kagami!" he shouted from above. "I'm so glad I caught you in time!"

"Pete," Kagami acknowledged, watching as the delivery pelican made his swift landing. "What brings you out here so late? I thought your delivery rounds ended at five."

"They did and they do, but this is a special delivery. I was told by Pelly, who was told by the sender, to get it to you right away. So! Here you are."

"Thanks..." Kagami said, receiving the letter with care.

"It's ma' pleasure."

After Pete had flown away, Kagami stepped into his house and locked the door behind him. He set his presents from Kise, Midorima, and Aomine aside in order to place his focus on this mystery letter of his. _'Could it be from Murasakibara?'_ he wondered. _'Or maybe Akashi?'_ But both those alternatives were quickly deemed to be wrong. In absolute and utter shock, Kagami read the letter not once, not twice, but three times before he expelled a soft, "Wow..." and rested the dainty piece of lined stationary down on his desk.

_Dear Kagami-kun,_

_I know we have not been formally introduced_

_to one another as of yet, but I felt that it would_

_be incredibly rude of me to not send you a letter_

_on your birthday. Please accept this mere _

_token of 500 bells as my way of congratulating_

_you on your coming of age._

_ Kuroko._

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! :D_

_I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Things are really starting to get interesting with Kuroko, huh? ;D_

_Thank you very much for taking the time to read!_

_- Chappy_


	10. Let's Go Acorn Hunting!

_2 months later_

* * *

_Hey, Mom,_

_Can you believe it's already October?_

_I sure can't. How are you and Dad doing?_

_Oh, thanks for the care package, by the_

_way. I ate all of the candies. The money_

_was appreciated, but I thought I told you_

_that U.S. dollars don't work here. I'll still_

_keep them, though._

_ They remind me of home. Taiga._

* * *

Relishing in the crisp, autumn air, Kagami drew in a deep breath. "Man, this has to be my favourite time of year," he said and gave a pleasant sigh. "It's not too hot, you can breathe without feeling like you're about to die, and it's the start of basketball season!" Kagami smiled. "Basketball...I wonder if any of these guys are interested in it."

Kagami had spent much of the day just wondering around the village, not really having much of anything planned other than to search for fossils. Strolling through one of Kiseki's many apple orchards, his eyes lit up at the sight of a small, x-shaped mark in the dirt. "That's gotta be a fossil!" he said excitedly. Readying his shovel, Kagami pierced through the ground and dug up the mystery item. It was no fossil. In fact, it was rather creepy. "The heck is this...?"

"That would be a gyroid, nanodayo."

Jumping higher than the Hollywood sign, Kagami shrieked and spun around. "Mi-Midorima?! Why did you have to scare me like that?"

"That was beyond my intentions," the small frog scoffed. "I was merely answering your question."

"I was talking to myself!" Kagami shouted. "I wasn't asking anyone anything!"

Fixing his glasses, Midorima said, "You're a perplexity. Do you do this whole 'taking to yourself' thing often?"

"I-" Kagami stopped. Scratching the side of his cheek, he tried to tally up the number of the times he had spoken to himself just today.

_'Wow! Is that a fossil?!'_

_'Man, I wish Himuro were here.'_

_'No new letters? That's a bummer.'_

The boy's face grew dim. "Uh..." he murmured, "yeah, I guess I do talk to myself a lot."

"Tch. It amazes me how you've become so popular around here, nanodayo," Midorima said, a hint of attitude resonating in his words. However, this had drawn out Kagami's interest.

"Popular?" he asked. "Me? _Popular_? Hah, I don't think so." Keying in on how intently Midorima was studying his reply, Kagami's expression turned snarky. "Unless that makes you _jealous_, Midorima."

Absolutely baffled by Kagami's accusation, Midorima stammered and stuttered, finally shouting, "I-I am no such thing! Who would be jealous of some over-sized giant like you?!"

"A midget frog."

Midorima's pulse had popped. "Whatever! I'm only envious of you, because of your height! Someone like you will have no problem collecting all of the acorns and it's not fair!"

_'He admitted it?! And in such a hypocritical manner?!'_ Kagami inwardly gasped. "Wait, what? What are you talking about? Acorns?"

Folding his arms, Midorima sighed and shook his head. "Are you that dense that you haven't even noticed your surroundings? Take a look around you, stupid."

Doing so, Kagami realized that he could no longer chastise Midorima for calling him stupid. He _was_ stupid. There were acorns _everywhere_. "When did this happen? They weren't here the night before..."

"That's because this week is the start of the Acorn Festival," Midorima explained. "It happens around this time every year." He offered Kagami a disconcerting look. "You wouldn't know, because you've only just started living here."

"I've been living here for five months," Kagami countered.

"That's nothing compared to Kuroko. He's been living here for ten years, from what I hear."

_'There's that name again. Kuroko...'_ Resting his hand on the back of his neck, Kagami sighed. He disregarded Midorima's comment about Kuroko and replied, "Let's get back to this Acorn Festival. What is it? What do you do?"

"You collect acorns," Midorima answered simply.

Cocking his head to the side, Kagami questioned, "That's it? That's all you have to do?"

Midorima nodded. "You collect them and bring them to Cornimer to reviewing. He presents you with mushroom furniture for your findings."

"Cornimer...? Don't you mean Tortimer?"

"No," Midorima grimaced. "It's _Cornimer_, nanodayo."

"Okey dokey, then. So, my guess is that you're determined to collect as many acorns as possible? You really must want this, what was it? Mushroom furniture?"

Midorima's hard expression became soft, before turning melancholy all together. "Yes, that is my goal," he responded solemnly. "I tried my best to do it last year, but like I said, I envy you for your height, nanodayo. I'm small and I can't reach most of the large acorns that are resting up in the trees. The year before that, I was ill and couldn't participate, and the year before that one, I wasn't even living here."

_'Geez...'_ Kagami mused. _'I never thought I'd say it, but I actually feel kind of sorry for the guy...'_ Biting his tongue, Kagami knew what he was about to do and began to deeply regret the words that slipped through his lips. "If you'd like..." he started awkwardly, "...I can help you with your collection."

"Perfect," Midorima nodded. "Let's begin."

_'Somehow, I feel like I've just been used.'_

* * *

The first hour of hunting and collecting wasn't so bad. Midorima had busied himself with picking up all of the acorns that littered the ground, while Kagami worked on getting them out of the trees. The next hour wasn't super awful, either. It was in the third hour that Kagami lost his cool, and it had nothing to do with acorns.

"What do you mean you don't like basketball?!" he hollered.

"I didn't say that, you idiot!" Midorima shot back. "I said that I can't _play_ it, not that I didn't _like_ it!"

"Huh? Why can't you play?"

Midorima rolled his eyes. "Why are you helping me collect acorns, Kagami?"

"Because you're shor-oh." The number of times that Kagami had felt like an idiot had racked up to two that day.

"Yeah. Exactly."

* * *

After five hours of continuous hunting and scavenging, Kagami felt like he was about to collapse. "Don't you think...we've collected enough...?"

"I believe so," Midorima affirmed. "Let's bring them to Cornimer, nanodayo."

* * *

"Ho! What do we have here? So many...er...acorns!" Cornimer chuckled. There was no doubt in Kagami's mind that this turtle figure was Tortimer. He knew better than to voice this aloud, though. "Are these all for the Acorn Festival?"

"Yes, they are," Midorima piped up, almost a tad too eagerly. There was a distinct glimmer in his eye. "I've collected them all. This means I can get the mushroom furniture, right?"

"Well, let's see here...do you have at least two-hundred and thirty acorns?" Cornimer asked.

"We have three thousand and eighty-two," Midorima answered sternly.

"Three thousand?! Me, oh my! How hard have you two been working?"

"Very hard," Kagami groaned monotonously. He dropped his sack of collected acorns, not really caring that they had spilled out all over the place. "Very, very hard."

Inspecting the acorns before him, Cornimer nodded and confirmed, "There is no doubt in my mind, then; Midorima, please take the entire series of mushroom furniture as my gift to you. You deserve it. And Kagami, thank you for helping him. You two must be very close friends!"

"We're nothing of the sort," both Kagami and Midorima had replied in unison, displaying looks of disgust towards one another.

"Haha, I must say, I'm a bit surprised," Cornimer laughed lightly. "Most choose to span their acorn hunting over the course of the week. It's very rare to have someone bring me all of the necessary acorns on the first day! I don't think it's ever happened before!"

"Wait," Kagami interrupted. "What do you mean by 'on the first day'? This event lasts for more than one?"

"It lasts all week, my dear Kagami," Cornimer informed. "Did something make you think otherwise?"

"Then why-!" He turned to Midorima in a huff. "Why did we do all of this work today, if we could have spaced it out over the span of this entire week?!

"Isn't it obvious?" Midorima questioned. He straightened his glasses, puffed out his cheeks, and looked up to Kagami. "I really wanted my mushroom furniture."

* * *

_Hello there! Chappy here! :D_

_And I'm here a day early with this chapter! The reason for that is because tomorrow is Kagami's birthday and I will be writing a small drabble to celebrate! (:_

_Also, I wonder if you guys picked up on the irony of Midorima being a small little frog, when in reality, he's really very tall. ^^;;_

_Thank you for reading and I hope you've enjoyed!_

_- Chappy_


	11. A Cold?

_Hey, Mom,_

_How's it going? I'm sorry I didn't_

_send you a letter for Halloween. I_

_honestly forgot about the holiday_

_all together (they don't celebrate it_

_here in Kiseki). Did you and Dad_

_decorate the house like always?_

_ Send pictures. Taiga._

* * *

Kagami could hardly believe that it was already the second week of November. Because of this, it wasn't uncommon for him to leave his house in clothes that were not fit for the elements, only to rush back inside and bundle up further. The boy was warm-blooded, and it was at times like this, where he was wrapped to his ears in a woolen scarf, that he missed the hot and heavy air of Los Angeles.

If it weren't for the fact that he had run out of milk, Kagami wouldn't have even dared to exit his house today. Second week of November all you want, it must have been no more than -12 degrees*. Thank the Heavens above that Tom Nook's shop had been heated, or else Kagami could have sworn he would have froze.

"Ho, ho, you don't like the cold weather, Kagami?" Tom Nook chuckled.

"I don't," Kagami replied flatly, dreading his walk towards the _freezer_ section.

Tom Nook nodded understandingly. "I can see how someone without fur might find days such as this one to be rather unfavorable. Midorima all but goes into hibernation during this time of year. Murasakibara, too, but he's an exception. He's a bear."

"If I weren't so invested in the exploration of this village, I'd probably consider going into hibernation, as well," Kagami laughed lightly. Reaching the freezers, he opened one of the glass doors and was instantly greeted by a burst of cold air. Shivering, he quickly grabbed for a carton of whole milk and slammed the door shut. When he turned to leave, he noticed that Tom Nook had been suiting up in what appeared to be a jacket. "Oh, are you going somewhere, Mr. Nook?"

Zipping up his coat, Tom Nook answered, "Yes, yes. I have to make another special delivery."

"Oh?" Curious, Kagami persisted. "What kind of special delivery?"

Tom Nook held up a small package of medications and healing herbs for Kagami to see. "A delivery for the sick."

Kagami's eyes widened. "The sick? Who's sick? Is it Kise? Aomine? Maybe Akashi?"

Shaking his head, Tom Nook responded, "None of the above."

"...Then who?"

Sighing, Tom Nook lowered the medicine pack and looked up to Kagami with an ominously serious expression. "It's Kuroko."

There was silence. Not a single noise - other than the gentle hum from the freezers - could be heard. If he hadn't caught himself in the nick of time, Kagami would have ended up dropping his carton of milk purely out of shock. "...Kuroko?" he asked, his voice emitting air rather than sound.

Readjusting his jacket, Tom Nook nodded and affirmed Kagami's confusion. "Yes, yes," he replied, "Kuroko has come down with quite the fever and has requested some medicine. Now, if you'll excuse me, Kagami, I really should be bringing this to him."

"Let me do it."

Kagami had caught both Tom Nook, as well as himself, off guard by his statement.

"That's very generous and all, Kagami," Tom Nook smiled, "but I don't know if it's the best of ideas. After all, you still have yet to meet Kuroko in person, yes?"

Stepping forward, Kagami placed his carton of milk on top of one of the stationary tables and said, "That's true, but I have this feeling that if I don't visit him with a purpose, I'll never get the opportunity to meet him at all."

Even though he wanted to, Tom Nook knew he couldn't deny what Kagami was saying. Kuroko really was an obscurity. He had always been on the anti side of the social spectrum, but it wasn't until two years back, when he and Aomine had had their fallout, that things started getting worse.

When Tom Nook had refused for the second time, Kagami clapped his hands together and bowed his head. "Please, Mr. Nook!" he pleaded. "I'm begging you!"

Though it took a few more bows and a handful of pleases, Tom Nook had finally granted Kagami permission to deliver Kuroko his medicine package. However, the business raccoon had a few warnings to give to him first. "Make sure you don't get too excited. Don't ask him too many questions all at once. His ears are sensitive, so make sure you keep your voice down. And most of all, please remember that he's ill, yes, yes? So please, try and keep your distance."

"I will! I'll be careful!" Kagami smiled. "Thank you very much, Mr. Nook!"

"Kagami," Tom Nook whispered, fashioning a finger to the tip of his snout, "remember your voice."

"Oh-! Oh..." Kagami flushed. "Sorry."

* * *

The journey to Kuroko's cottage was absolutely brutal. From the time that Kagami had left Nook 'n' Go, the winds had picked up, forcing for the boy's scarf to flap about like crazy. "This Kuroko guy better be grateful," he muttered to himself, "otherwise I'm freezing my butt off for nothing."

Rapping his fist against Kuroko's front door, Kagami stood back and waited. Clutching a tighter hold on the medicine pack, he sighed and began to wonder if this brilliant idea of his was just that. His nerves were beginning to set in and his heart began to beat faster. When he heard soft shuffling from beyond the door, he felt as if he were about to faint. That's when the door had slowly opened, and two, pointed blue ears had popped out, a gentle voice murmuring, "Thank you for coming, Mr. Tom Nook..."

Scratching the back of his neck, or what he could reach of it with his scarf in the way, Kagami began, "Actually..." but he needn't say more, because it was apparent that Kuroko had already realized his mistake. He had slammed the door shut.

Too stunned to do much of anything, Kagami tried to process what had just occurred._ 'What...what did I even do?! All I said was one word! Was I too loud? I didn't even have the chance to-!'_ Just as he was about to knock again, the door creaked open and Kuroko peeked his full head out through the crack.

"Is that...medicine in your hands?"

Now, Kagami had been stunned for an entirely different reason. There, right before his very eyes, was the mystery himself. The urban legend, if you will. And in all of his blushing glory, he was finally acquainted with Kuroko's ghostly presence.

* * *

After, thankfully, being invited inside, Kagami began to scope out Kuroko's living arrangements. Everything seemed very dull and quaint, almost like an elderly lady had been in charge of decorating. Removing his scarf, Kagami set it over his shoulders and handed Kuroko his medicine pack. "I hear you've got a fever?"

"Yes," was Kuroko's curt answer, as he accepted his medication.

Feeling a bit awkward, but not wanting to overwhelm the feverish feline, Kagami decided to keep the conversation light. "You know, it's kind of funny how I've lived here for over half of a year now, and this is the first time we've met, right?" Kuroko was too busy inspecting the contents of his medicine package to answer, so Kagami tried again. "Kise said that you were at Himuro's goodbye party, but I don't even recall seeing you there." Again, no response. This time, Kagami spoke directly at Kuroko, rather than about him. "You know, I got your letter. For my birthday, that is."

Giving Kagami a sideways glance that lasted for only a few seconds, Kuroko turned his attention back towards his medicine. Still, he gave a very muffled reply. "That was three months ago."

"Yeah, it was," Kagami agreed awkwardly. "I just realized that I never got the chance to thank you for it."

"Is that why you came here?"

"Huh?"

Popping one of the chewable medicine tablets into his mouth, Kuroko looked up to Kagami and repeated his question. "Is that why you came here?" Adding, "To thank me?"

Kagami shook his head. "Well, no. That's not the reason." Trying to justify why he had wanted to deliver Kuroko his medicine without sounding like a total creep, the boy responded, "I figured, well...I figured that this would be our ice breaker, sort of."

"Pardon?"

Trying to explain where he was going with this, Kagami said, "You know how, sometimes, for some people, it's a lot harder to get a conversation going than with, say...you're best friend." Kuroko remained silent, though his almost-interested expression was enough motivation for Kagami to continue his thought. "You and I, that's us. I have no idea what to say to you, because I don't know you. That's why I figured that if I had some sort of reason for visiting you, like delivering you your medicine, it would be easier for us to become friends-I mean..._friendly_ with one another."

Kagami began to feel stupid from the way that Kuroko stared up at him, but what else was new. Then, just as he was about to negate everything he had just said, the small cat nodded. "I agree."

Blinking once, twice, then three, four, five more times, Kagami asked, "Y-you do?"

Kuroko nodded again. "I do," he answered. "Let's be friendly, Kagami-kun."

When Kuroko had suddenly been over taken by a case of the shivers, Kagami figured it was time for him to take his leave. Wrapping his scarf back around his neck and up to his ears, Kagami lifted a hand to the blue feline as a sign of his departure, before stepping through Kuroko's threshold and back into the chilly, second-week-of-November air.

He had stopped back at Nook 'n' Go to give Tom Nook a status report. When he was praised for his good deed, Kagami couldn't help but feel a bit proud of himself. Purchasing his milk and bidding the raccoon farewell, he made his way back towards his house. Quickly. However, it was just enough time for him to let Kuroko's gently spoken words play over and over in his head.

_'Let's be friendly, Kagami-kun.'_

"Yeah," Kagami smiled, though barely visible from behind his scarf. "Let's."

* * *

* _-12 degrees Celsius (around 10 degrees Fahrenheit)._

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! (:_

_Wow! Kuroko **finally** makes his very first appearance! I hope you've all enjoyed it!_

_Thank you very much for taking the time to read! (:_

_- Chappy_


	12. The First Snowfall

_Dear, Mom,_

_Does saying "Dear" sound too formal?_

_Sorry. Guess what. I finally got to see_

_it, Mom. Snow. It snowed here today._

_Have you ever seen snow before?_

_I'll be sure to take pictures and send_

_them to you in my next letter._

_ Until then. Taiga._

* * *

Getting out of bed that day proved to be one of the most difficult tasks that Kagami had faced in a long time. He just wanted to stay bundled up in his cocoon of covers and never come out. He knew that if he didn't, he'd deeply regret it. Last night, an announcement had been posted on the bulletin board saying that a few snow squalls would be rolling in throughout the day today. Kagami had never seen snow before, so naturally, he wouldn't dare pass up on the opportunity to see it for the very first time.

Kagami heaved himself out of his bed. He sluggishly made his way to his dresser and picked out the warmest set of clothes that he had to offer. After dressing, he made his bed, folded his pajamas, placed them beneath his pillow, and pulled on a thick pair of ski socks. Kagami had never been skiing in his life, he just owned the socks.

Before leaving his house, he made sure to put on his scarf, his mittens, his boots, and of course, his ski jacket (he owned one of those, too). Upon opening his front door, Kagami yelped and stepped backward. He had a visitor. "Ao-Aomine! What the heck are you doing here?! And can't you knock?! Geez! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Rolling his eyes, Aomine sighed and said, "You know, I was _about_ to knock, before your stupid self went and opened up the stupid door. You startled me, too, tch."

Kagami closed the door from behind and pursued the conversation. "That doesn't answer my first question," he groaned. "What are you doing here?" Something wasn't right about the wolf's demeanor. He seemed...off. He wasn't acting like his usual, cocky and all-too-proud self. That was made clear by the fact that _he_ had actually been the one to approach Kagami, after claiming to never want anything to do with the guy. Ever.

Scoffing, Aomine scratched at his left ear. To Kagami, it looked like he was having trouble piecing his thoughts together. A rarity, really. "Remember..." he slowly began, "...remember when we had that storm back in the summer? The really big one?"

"Yeah, why?" Kagami remembered. How could he forget? After all, he and Aomine had to share the same hiding space for just under an hour, and in _Aomine's_ basement no less.

Aomine continued to scratch his ear. Now, it made him look like he had an ear mite problem - which Kagami wouldn't doubt it, if he did. "Do you remember what we talked about on that day?" he asked.

Placing a hand to his chin, Kagami did his very best to think back. Remembering scenarios were no problem for him, but conversations were a whole different category. Still, the foggy memory began to resurface and he answered, "Didn't it have something to do with Kuroko? Weren't we talking about him?"

Biting his tongue, Aomine nodded. "Yeah, it did," he affirmed, "but do you remember what I had said to you?"

All of this remembering and recollecting was starting to make Kagami's head hurt. Putting a stop to this mind game, he grumbled, "Can you quit beating around the bush and just _tell _me what you're trying to get at here? It's starting to get really annoying."

Aomine stopped scratching his ear. He narrowed his gaze and looked up to stare Kagami straight in the eye. "I told you not to hurt him," he spoke lowly. "I told you never to hurt Kuroko the way that I had."

Suddenly, everything began to come back to him. Kagami had remembered being deeply confused by Aomine's warning. At the time, he was pretty sure he had thought nothing more of it than that. It was just a really weird thing for him to say.

Now, however, Kagami was curious. What had Aomine done to hurt Kuroko? Even Tom Nook had known about it, so it must have been something upsetting. But was it really_ that _bad? This would be the perfect time to ask about it. "Aomine," Kagami breathed in a whisper, "what exactly happened between you and Kuroko?"

* * *

Aomine and Kuroko. Their story was beautifully tragic.

They had first met on a warm, summer evening. Aomine had been out and about, getting himself acquainted with his new life in Kiseki, whereas Kuroko had merely been taking an after-dinner stroll. The moment they had crossed one another's path, their fate had been sealed. They were destined to be the absolute _best_ of friends.

"Oh, hey!" Aomine said with a smile. "I've never seen your face around before. Are you new here, too?"

"No," Kuroko answered plainly. "I've lived here for quite a while. You're the one who's new."

Aomine laughed at that, responding, "Yeah, I am! Name's Aomine. And you? What's your name?"

"Kuroko."

"Kuroko, huh? Hmm..." Aomine inspected the feline's vacant expression, before giving him a hardy pat on the shoulder. "Well, Kuroko! Let's get to know one another! What do you say?"

"I say no."

Regardless of his denial, Kuroko and Aomine did get to know each other a lot better than was expected of the two of them. During the day, they would meet up in the town and chat about all sorts of fun things. At night, they would share evening walks through the apple orchards and reminisce about anything and everything. One fateful evening, Aomine had felt comfortable enough with their relationship to ask, "Say, Kuroko...we're friends, right?"

Kuroko stopped and turned to look at him. He shook his head. "No. We're not."

Sputtering over his words, Aomine felt the dire need to ask, "Wh-why not?"

"You didn't let me finish." With his ears twitching and his tail swaying back and forth like a metronome, Kuroko showed Aomine a sight he had never seen before. He had _actually _smiled. "Aomine," he carefully began, "you and I are not _just _friends. We're more than that." Aomine could swear he saw the stars shine within Kuroko's brilliant blue eyes as he concluded, "We're _best _friends."

But it didn't last.

Soon after he and Kuroko had established their relationship, Aomine left Kiseki Village. Without a trace, without a sign, the wolf had seemingly disappeared into thin air, never to be seen again. Desperate for answers, Kuroko asked around. He asked Kise and he asked Akashi. He asked Murasakibara and he asked Himuro. He even went as far as asking Midorima, who had only just moved in a few weeks prior. None of them knew the answer, nor had any of them ever heard Aomine speak of leaving.

A month had passed, and then another. Before anyone could realize it, the year was gone, and a new one had taken its place. Kuroko began to change. He stopped going on his after-dinner walks, and it was becoming rarer and rarer to see him prowling around the town. By the time spring had sprung, Kuroko refused to come out of his house all together.

Kise was the most concerned for him. He would try to get Kuroko to venture out with him, whether it be a trip to the beach or a day by the river, anything to get the reclusive feline to socialize a bit. The answer was always no. Sometimes, Kise's attempts and door knocks weren't even acknowledged at all.

It was during the summer months when Tom Nook had begun to make personal house calls to Kuroko. He would bring him furniture, stationary, medicine; anything he ever needed. At first, others were a bit jealous from the special treatment Kuroko was receiving, but when they thought back to everything he had been through, how his trust had been built up and then shattered like plexiglass, they shut their mouths and turned their heads.

When summer had ended and the trees began to say goodbye to their leaves, the unthinkable had happened. No one had been expecting it, but at the same time, no one had ever denied the idea of it, either. Rolling up into the station came the hourly train, and stepping out, in all his straggly, over-bitten glory, came the long lost wolf, Aomine.

Day after day after returning to Kiseki, he would walk by Kuroko's house, never coming any closer to it than the outer lawn. The outside of the cottage had become overgrown with weeds, much like his own dwelling had. It begged Aomine to question...did Kuroko even live there anymore?

"Yeah, he still lives there-ssu," Kise answered solemnly. "But he won't come out. He hasn't left his house in months now."

Ridden with guilt, Aomine lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Kise," he whispered. "I'm sorry for what I-"

"Don't apologize to me," Kise interrupted. "Apologize to him."

* * *

Hearing the story from Aomine's point of view only made Kagami dislike the guy even more. He wanted to ask him why he had left Kiseki in the first place, but there was another question he found to be much more important. "...Did you?" Kagami inquired hesitantly. "Did you apologize to him?"

Aomine shrugged his shoulders and exhaled a long sigh. "Yeah, I did," he replied, "but it's not like it could fix the damage that had already been done."

Opening his mouth to say something else, a chilling sensation that nipped his lower lip forced Kagami to quickly snap it shut. Looking to the sky, his eyes immediately doubled in size. "It's snowing..." he muttered. "...It's actually snowing."

Glancing up as well, Aomine grunted in acknowledgement and said, "Yeah. It is."

The two stood there, sharing a brief moment of mutual silence, simply staring off into the atmosphere as the skies cried their frozen tears. This hadn't been the first time Aomine was experiencing a snowfall, but as he stayed by Kagami's side, occasionally looking over to see the absolute awestruck that had painted over his complexion, he somehow felt as if it _were_ his first time all over again. It felt innocent, maybe even a bit magical.

"Be good to him," Aomine had randomly whispered, breaking the quiet that had suddenly begun to feel unnatural.

"Yeah," Kagami responded, speaking in no more than a whisper as well. He knew exactly what Aomine was referring to without even having him elaborate on the matter. Breathing in deeply, filling his throat and lungs with the bitter cold air, Kagami nodded and concluded, "I will be."

* * *

_Hello there! Chappy here! :D_

_Ahh, a long-awaited question about Aomine and Kuroko's relationship has finally been answered! I hope you've enjoyed it!_

_Thank you for taking the time to read! (:_

_- Chappy_


	13. I'm Home for Christmas

_Dear, Mom,_

_Thank you for paying for my_

_train ticket. I'll be home for_

_Christmas. Did you set up the_

_tree yet? I know you and Dad_

_like to do that early._

_ See you then. Taiga._

* * *

_One week before Christmas_

* * *

Snow had blessed the village of Kiseki, coating everything in fluffy white. There was no doubt that it was absolutely beautiful, but Kagami really could do without the cold temperatures that snow brought with its beauty. His inner-Californian shined through, every time he stepped outside.

"You know, Taiga, you look quite foolish all bundled up like that," Akashi chuckled, using his tail to rub against Kagami's leg. "Are you wearing five pairs of pants, or what?"

Folding his arms, mostly out of frustration, but partially because of the cold, Kagami sighed and blew a stray piece of hair out of his face. When a cloud of his breath had puffed through his lips, it only caused the boy to sigh again. "It's cold," he replied simply.

"That it is," Akashi agreed. "But you still look like a fool."

It was strange for Kagami to be spending time with Akashi - if anything, he would much rather be hanging out with Kise, or maybe even Kuroko - after all, the two of them hardly had anything in common. Hair color? But in Akashi's case, wouldn't it be _fur _color...? Whatever the matter, they had ended up spending the afternoon at the Roost. Even if Akashi didn't want to own up to it, it was clear that it was far too chilly to do anything outdoors, even for a furry feline like him.

"...Would you like the usual blend?" Brewster murmured, his question so soft that Kagami had almost not heard him.

"Nah, I think I'll go for something different today," Kagami smiled, though it quickly faded when he saw Brewster looking particularly offended by that.

"...Coo. What would you like, then...?"

"Hmm..." Kagami hummed. "Got any hot chocolate?"

"...Yes. Hot chocolate, yes..."

"Great, I'll have that, then."

"Double that order for me, as well," Akashi said, sneaking in his own order.

"...Yes. White or dark...?"

"White-"

"Dark-"

Kagami looked to Akashi, and Akashi looked to Kagami. Then, they both looked to Brewster, who appeared to be terribly confused.

Akashi rose his paw and purred, "I'll take white hot chocolate."

"And I'll have dark," Kagami nodded.

Breathing a soft coo of relief, Brewster was off to go and make their drinks. It was in his absence that Akashi had turned to Kagami and asked, "So, do you have any plans for Christmas?"

Truthfully, he had been a bit caught off guard by Akashi's question. He didn't think the feline to be the type that was into the whole "holiday scene". Resting his elbows down onto the counter, Kagami nodded and said, "Yeah, I do, actually. My mom sent me some money to pay for my train ticket back home, so I'll be spending Christmas with them."

Somehow, Akashi seemed genuinely shocked by Kagami's answer. "So, you're not going to be here for the holidays?"

Kagami shook his head. "Even though I moved away from home, my family is still really important to me. I want to be with them."

After they received their drinks, Kagami and Akashi remained pretty silent, that is, for the most part. After all, they were drinking, so slurps and swallows served to be their only form of communication. When the quiet had proved to be too much for him, Kagami sighed and ignited the conversation once again. "Do you have any plans, Akashi?"

He nodded, saying, "Of course, I do. Everyone in Kiseki Village does."

"...What do you mean by that? Is everyone going away for the holidays?"

Akashi snickered and shook his head. "Are you crazy? Christmas is the best time to be here in Kiseki, everyone knows that. Everything just...comes to life."

_'Comes to life...?' _Kagami wondered.

"The trees light up, the stores stay open later, and then, when the eve before Christmas finally rolls around, it happens."

Running his finger around the rim of his mug, Kagami tilted his head to the side in a questioning manner and asked, "What? What are you talking about? What happens?"

"Jingle," Akashi smiled. "Jingle visits. He visits, and he brings presents to everyone in the village." The delight in the small cat's eye was almost admirable, as he remembered, "Last year, he gave me a new kettle for my tea."

Kagami seemed mystified by this "Jingle" person. Who was he? Was he real? Was he a myth? Was he just Tortimer dressed up in something festive again? He had to ask. "Have you seen Jingle in person?"

"Are you saying that you don't believe me?" Akashi smirked, his tail flitting amusedly behind him.

"I just want to know. It's a simple question."

Shrugging his shoulder, Akashi leaped down from his stool at the counter and paid Brewster his 200 bells. As he made his leave, he turned back to Kagami and said, "If you're that curious, you should stick around and find out for yourself."

* * *

Ironically, Akashi hadn't been the only one that wanted Kagami to "stick around" for the holidays.

"Kagamicchi!" Kise whined, all but hanging onto the boy's leg. "How could you leave at the best time of the year-ssu? Christmas is so much fun! Please don't go home..."

"I want to spend Christmas with my family," Kagami sighed. He hated to sound rude, especially to someone as sweet as Kise, but it was the truth. He really did want to go home.

In that moment, Kagami felt it as his heart sank. Kise had shown him the saddest expression that he had seen the pup wear to date. "But..." he whispered, "aren't we your family, too, Kagamicchi?"

* * *

The next person that had confronted him about this whole "stay in Kiseki for Christmas" business was, surprisingly, Aomine.

"Whaaat?" he drew out dramatically. "You're going back to L.A.?"

"Just for the holidays," Kagami corrected, "it's not forever."

"You're pretty dumb, Bakagami," Aomine scoffed. "It's not like I _want _you to be here during the holidays, but knowing someone like you, you'll be kicking yourself with regret for it later."

* * *

His next approach had been by Murasakibara. There was no doubt in Kagami's mind what _their_ conversation would be about.

"Kagamicchi..." Murasakibara spoke slowly, "...Christmas is when the best snacks are sold. Cookies, cakes, ice creams, bagels...how could you even think about leaving, when all of these wonderful things are about to happen?"

"Is it only the food that you care about, Murasakibara?" Kagami asked, laughing a bit.

"No..." Murasakibara muttered sheepishly.

"What else, then?" Really, Kagami was genuinely curious.

"I like it when Jingle comes..."

"Oh yeah? Akashi likes it when he comes, too."

"Everyone likes it when Jingle comes..."

Full of questions, Kagami asked, "What did Jingle bring you last year? Akashi said that he got a tea kettle from him."

Swaying back and forth, Murasakibara wasn't so sure he wanted to answer.

"...What? What was it?"

"Food..." he murmured. "...And candy..."

"Knew it."

* * *

"Just stay in Kiseki, nanodayo," and that was all that Midorima had to say on the subject.

* * *

Now, Kagami was really conflicted. He had already told his parents he would be home for Christmas, but now that Christmas eve was practically upon him, he didn't know what to do. Everyone in Kiseki had told him they wanted him to stay. Everyone but...

"Kuroko..." he whispered, standing up from where he sat at his desk. If he wanted a true "blue" deciding factor, he would have to ask Kuroko. Truth be told, ever since he fell ill a couple of months back, Kuroko and Kagami had kept up with a rather civil, rather refined relationship. They were still too early in their stages to call one another "friends", but Kagami valued Kuroko's opinion just as much as any one else's.

Knocking on the feline's front door, Kagami waited, as was custom, for Kuroko to answer it. When he did, he could tell that the other had not been expecting any company today, given his massive case of bedhead.

"Kagami, what are you doing here?"

"Sorry to come uninvited," Kagami apologized, ducking his head as he entered Kuroko's low set cottage home. "But I have something really important to ask you."

Showing his concern, Kuroko walked closer to Kagami and looked up at him. "Something important?" he repeated. "What is it?"

"I wanted to ask you," he began, "do you think I should stay in Kiseki for Christmas, or should I go back home to L.A."

"Home," Kuroko responded curtly.

A bit appalled, Kagami questioned, "You think I should go back to L.A.?"

"I didn't say that," Kuroko justified, and in that moment, Kagami could swear he was mimicking Akashi's actions in the way that his tail swayed back and forth rhythmically. "My answer was home. I said nothing about L.A., nor did I say any mentions of Kiseki."

"I don't know if I follow..."

Lowering his head, Kuroko nodded and said, "If you think about it long enough, you'll understand."

* * *

Back at home, Kagami was pacing his bedroom with anxiety. His train ticket was set to expire within the next hour, and he had yet to make his decision. "Home..." he whispered, quoting Kuroko directly. "Home... I should be at home..."

He rattled his brain and pounded his fist against the wall. "But where is home?" he breathed. "Where is it?"

_'Home is where the heart is!'_

That's what his mother used to say; she would tell him all the time. Wherever it felt right, wherever it felt comfortable, that was home, and that's where he should be. He had to make a decision. He had to make it now.

Pulling back his desk chair and taking a seat, Kagami sighed heavily as he picked up his pen, picked up his train ticket, opened up his stationary, and began to write. His final letter read as follows:

_Dear, Mom,_

_I know I said I would be coming_

_home for Christmas, but I have _

_something to tell you. Remember_

_how you always said, "Home is where _

_the heart is!"? Well, Mom...I feel at_

_home here. I've made wonderful_

_friends, and as much as I love and miss_

_both you and Dad, I just can't bring_

_myself to go back to L.A. Not yet,_

_at least. I'll come and visit you guys soon,_

_I promise you that, but as for right now,_

_all I have to say is..._

_ I'm home for Christmas. Taiga._

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! (:_

_Christmas in...August? Haha, I hope the mentions of snow cooled everyone down a bit!_

_Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope you've enjoyed!_

_- Chappy_


	14. New Year, New Beginnings

_Hey, Mom,_

_Thank you for understanding about_

_the whole Christmas thing. I'll definitely _

_come back and visit you guys sometime,_

_though. I really miss you. Hey, did you _

_get my pictures? Kise was really excited_

_to be the one behind the camera. We took_

_lots more, so if you'd like me to send them_

_just let let me know._

_ I want you to send me some pictures, too. Taiga._

* * *

With Christmas gone and the New Year on its hunches, Kiseki Village was absolutely bustling with activity. Preparations were being made for the end of the year fireworks display, while the residents were busy rushing about to get their last minute shopping items. The New Year was the best time for sales, after all, and Kagami was quickly coming to learn how much of a cheapskate not only he, but all of his neighbors were. Seriously, though, who would pass up the opportunity to buy a pair of socks for only 50 bells?

On route to town hall to mail a few letters, Kagami stopped by the side of the path to bend over and pluck up a weed. When he rose to stand, he could swear it that everyone in the village must have heard his scream. "Kuroko! What the heck-?! Don't scare me like that! Oh my God!"

Kuroko's ears had flattened slightly. Kagami sure got loud when he was frightened. Still, the feline had a comeback that he was sure would make Kagami feel stupid. "I've been walking behind you for nearly five minutes now," he explained. "You just haven't noticed me. I even tried calling your name, but you didn't respond."

Groaning, Kagami ruffled his hair frustratedly. "Why didn't you say something sooner?" he grumbled.

"I just told you that I tried. You were ignoring me."

"I wasn't ignoring-! Whoah, wait a second..." Suddenly, Kagami realized the one thing that was seriously wrong with this situation. Pointing an accusing finger in Kuroko's direction, Kagami sputtered, "Wh-what are you doing outside of your house?! Y-you never come out!"

Kuroko swayed on his heels and looked up to Kagami curiously. "Am I not allowed to take an afternoon stroll?" he mewed.

"No! Well, yes! You are, but-!" Kagami didn't know what he was more shocked by: the fact that Kuroko had been following him without his knowledge, or the fact that _Kuroko_ was outside of his _house_.

"But nothing," Kuroko interrupted. "Let's walk together."

* * *

Trudging through the snow wasn't Kagami's most favourite thing to do, but somehow, with Kuroko walking by his side, everything felt more peaceful. He had just so happened to look over when Kuroko was wearing a particularly lovely expression, too. The small cat had his face pointed up to the sky and his eyes were closed softly. He really looked like his was enjoying himself, and Kagami didn't want to ruin the moment by opening up his big, fat mouth. He didn't have to, though. Kuroko had sensed his wandering eye.

"You're looking at me," he noted, stating the obvious.

"Uh, yeah, I was," Kagami admitted awkwardly. He turned his head away to look forward once more. "You looked really calm just now."

"I am calm."

"Ah..." Somehow, Kagami didn't know how to respond to that. Conversation still wasn't very natural for the both of them.

"I'm enjoying this walk with you, Kagami," Kuroko added soon after, and when Kagami looked his way once again, he realized that now _he_ was being stared at.

"That's good. I'm enjoying it, too." Kagami smiled a bit, wondering if it would ease up on some of the uncomfortable tension between the two of them. It didn't. It only prompted Kuroko to stare at him further.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked.

The corners of Kagami's lips had dropped almost instantly. "Uh..." he began. He was beginning to wonder the same thing himself. It would sound stupid if he told Kuroko that he was only smiling, because he didn't want things to feel weird anymore. "I'm not sure."

"Oh, I see." And the topic was dropped.

At least Kagami felt like something had worked. Somehow, the silence was starting to feel comfortable. He didn't know what had changed, but just walking side-by-side, quietly listening to the way that the snow sloshed and squished - occasionally crunching, too - beneath their feet, it was really, really nice.

"Are you going to the fireworks display tonight?"

Kagami had asked such a thing on a whim. What had gotten into him? He felt like an idiot. Of course Kuroko was going to say no to that.

"Would you like me to go?" was Kuroko's very unexpected response.

Reaching beneath his scarf to rub the back of his neck, Kagami chuckled a bit and said, "Well, yeah! I mean, everyone goes to these kinds of things, right?"

"I suppose."

"So...? Are you going to come?"

"Will you escort me?"

"_What_?" Kagami's cheeks had flared up a lovely shade of red at Kuroko's proposition.

"I asked if you'd escort me. That means that I'm wondering if you'd bring me there with you." Kuroko wasn't even looking at Kagami as he said all of these, what the bashfully blushing boy thought to be, _very embarrassing_ things.

"...If I didn't bring you, would you still go?" Kagami wondered, after building up the courage to speak again.

"Probably not." Kuroko answered honestly. "I wouldn't have a reason to go."

Kagami didn't like the sound of that. If Kuroko was ever going to become more extroverted, Kagami knew that he would have to step up to the plate. If bringing him to a fireworks display was one of the ways to do that, then there really was no other option. "Fine, fine," he sighed. "I'll bring you."

"Great," Kuroko purred. "It's a date."

"Don't call it that!" And Kagami was red again.

* * *

"Only ten minutes to go!" Tortimer called out, earning everyone's attention with excited cheers.

"This is so exciting, this is so exciting-ssu!" Kise giggled. He began bouncing about, but was quickly stopped when Aomine tackled him to the ground. "Ow, ow, ow! Stop that! Get off of me!"

"My mistake," Aomine muttered. "I thought you were a firecracker."

"Why would you attack a firecracker?!"

"This is troublesome, nanodayo," Midorima sighed. When he moved to push up his glasses, he had accidentally popped his party popper, causing him to jump, as well as yelp. This made both Kise and Aomine absolutely lose it.

"Omigosh! Omigosh! His face just now! Did you see it-ssu?! Did you see it?!" Kise laughed.

"Oh my God, that was hilarious!" Aomine howled.

Embarrassed beyond belief, Midorima turned around and began walking away from the group. To his annoyance, Akashi had followed after him.

"Midorima," he purred softly, "please don't get so upset. They're just having a little bit of fun. And come now, you have to admit that it was pretty funny."

"Fun at my own expense is _never_ funny, nanodayo," Midorima scoffed.

Chuckling softly, Akashi rested a courteous paw down onto Midorima's shoulder. "Lighten up a bit. You should really think about making that your New Year's resolution."

Midorima said nothing to that, but regardless, he rejoined the group. Kise and Aomine ended up apologizing to him, but the sincerity of said apologies was very questionable.

"Hey, look..." Murasakibara spoke up, cheeks packed to the core with cakes and other goods. "Isn't that Kuroko? Why is he with Kagami?"

Everyone immediately looked to the direction where Murasakibara was pointing. Eyes wide and ears perked - all except for Midorima, that is - they watched in perplexity as both Kagami and Kuroko ran into the town hall plaza.

"Ugh, we made it," Kagami sighed, trying his best to catch his breath. "Sorry we're late, guys."

"Three minutes!" Tortimer announced. "Oh, Kagami! Kuroko! Come over here, you youngin's!"

It was clear that everyone had something to say; Kagami could just barely read the words on the tips of each of their tongues. However, he had never been one to go against authority, so both he and Kuroko did as they were told and made their way over to where Tortimer stood waiting for them.

"These are for you!" he said cheerfully. "Be sure to use them sometime tonight. Nothing bad will happen if you don't, but it'll be kind of pointless to waste such a mighty opportunity."

What Kagami had been handed looked like some kind of...makeshift explosive? "Is this supposed to be a party popper?" he asked.

"Of course! What did you think it was?" Tortimer wondered.

"Well, it looks kind of like-"

"Thank you very much for the firework," Kuroko cut in, bowing his head graciously.

"Oh, you're very welcome, Kuroko," Tortimer smiled. He chuckled happily and said, "And I'm very glad to see you here this year! Oh! One minute left, everyone! Let's do the countdown!"

The electronic light-up board began to beep as it chimed off the final numbers of the countdown. Somewhere around 48 seconds, everyone had gotten into sync, shouting out the numbers as they flashed by. With 10 seconds left to go, Kagami looked over at Kuroko. The small feline had ended up being the most adorable sight he had seen all night.

His eyes had been bright with anticipation, and tiny paws had been gripping his party popper anxiously, waiting for the opportune moment when...

_**BOOM!**_

"Happy New Year!" everyone shouted, voices all just barely heard beneath the sound of the exploding fireworks display. Everyone - save for Midorima - popped their poppers and laughed at the funny and unique sounds that each of them had made. When Kagami turned to look back at Kuroko, he noticed that he still hadn't popped his own yet.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Kagami asked as softly as he could, whilst being heard over the fireworks.

For a moment, Kuroko looked dazed. The reds and the oranges and the pinks of the fireworks were reflecting majestically within his bulbous blue eyes. It was when Kagami had placed a hand on the top of his head that he looked up at him. "Nothing's wrong," Kuroko responded reassuringly, before gazing back down at his popper. "I just thought, even though Tortimer said it would be a waste, I kind of want to save this. I want to keep it as a momento of how much fun I've had with you tonight."

Kagami had been stunned by Kuroko's words, but he knew he would have all the time in the world to be shocked by them later. Right now, he just wanted to spend the rest of the New Year's party with his friends.

"That's a good idea. Man, I kind of wish I would have saved mine now..."

Kuroko didn't respond verbally to that, but he nodded his head understandingly.

"Hey, Kuroko?"

"Yes?"

Holding his obliterated popper up into the air as if to propose a toast and elicit cheers, Kagami smiled brightly, almost as brightly as the fireworks that lit up the night sky, as he said, "Happy New Year. Here's to a good year filled with new beginnings."

"Yes," Kuroko agreed, holding up his own popper with the both of his hands. "Here's to."

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! :D_

_Ahh, it feels weird writing for holidays that still feel so far away, but I hope you've enjoyed this chapter!_

_Kuroko is really starting to break out of his shell now. It's about time, right? I mean, we're already on chapter 14 of a 21-chapter piece!_

_Please look forward to more chapters containing more of Kuroko to come! (:_

_As always, thank you very much for taking the time to read!_

_- Chappy_


	15. You've Changed Him

_Hi, Mom,_

_Thanks for sending over more money for_

_the New Year. I think you'd be happy to hear _

_that my house payments are coming along nicely. _

_My downstairs has a new room to it now. _

_Everything is a heck of a lot more spacious than _

_it was, when I first moved in. It's still crazy cold here. _

_I'm telling you, I'm really thinking about coming back _

_to L.A. for a bit. Just to visit, you know?_

_ I still miss you guys. Taiga._

* * *

"Is that a letter for your mother?" Kuroko asked curiously. He and Kagami had just so happened to cross paths on his way to the town hall. Not that either of them minded, of course. After all, the two of them were becoming rather acquainted with one another.

"Yeah, it is," Kagami affirmed, holding the thin envelope out for Kuroko to see more clearly. "My mom and I are kind of like pen pals. We send each other letters and pictures and stuff."

"Pictures?"

"Yeah! You know, like, photos from home and things like that. I get homesick sometimes," Kagami admitted, a tad sheepishly at that, "so she mails me some pictures of her and my dad and of our house and the neighborhood that I grew up in." When Kagami turned to give Kuroko a sideways glance, he was almost shocked by how absolutely intrigued the small feline had looked.

"Do you think that maybe, after you mail this letter out to your mother, you could show me some of the pictures that she's sent to you?" Kuroko asked politely.

Kagami didn't even have to think very much at all, before answering, "Of course! I'd love to show them to you! Man, Kuroko, I think you're really going to like them. The beach of Kiseki is nothing compared to the beaches of L.A.! I mean, no offense, but when I show you, you'll understand where I'm coming from."

"I'm sure I will, Kagami," Kuroko nodded. "I'm sure I will."

* * *

"Thank you, Kagami!" Pelly smiled, cheerfully accepting Kagami's letter to be sent. "I'll get Pete to deliver this right away!"

"Thanks," Kagami replied, smiling in return. Honestly, Pelly's bright and vibrant personality was dangerously contagious. No matter how hard he tried to imagine it, Kagami just couldn't picture Pelly with an angered expression. "I'll see you sometime next week for my next mortgage payment."

"Sounds great! I'll be sure to let Tom Nook know that."

"Thanks again. Take care now," Kagami said with a wave.

"You, too!" Pelly giggled. "And, even though you didn't have to mail anything, it was nice of you to stop by as well, Kuroko!"

Silently nodding in acknowledgement, Kuroko ducked beneath Kagami's arm as he held the front door open for the both of them. Once they were on the outside, he looked up to the adolescent with an almost alert demeanor, and questioned, "Can you show me those pictures now?"

"Hold your horses!" Kagami laughed. "I never would have pinned you to be the impatient type, Kuroko."

"Hold my...horses?" It was clear from Kuroko's vacant expression that Kagami's statement had left him very confused.

"Oh, uh..." Kagami rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's a saying. It means, like, try to be more patient, or something like that."

Kuroko's tail swayed back and forth majestically. "Was I being too impatient? Should I wait for a better time?" he wondered.

"Nah, I was just joking with you. Tell you what, how about I head back to my place, grab the pictures, and then bring them over to your place so that we can look at them together?"

With a raised brow, Kuroko inquired, "Is there any particular reason why you don't want me to come over to _your_ house, Kagami?"

Kagami's eyes widened. "Oh! No, Kuroko, it's not like that! It's just, my place is kinda messy right now, so I don't really want to have any company over. And especially if that company is _you_, I feel like it'd be kinda rude, haha..."

"I see," and without much left to say, Kuroko broke away from Kagami's side and began the long walk back towards his cottage house.

* * *

Kagami hadn't been lying, when he had said that his house wasn't fit to have company in it. It desperately looked like a tornado had graced the place. He knew he had no excuse to be so messy, so he would just go ahead and say it: he was lazy. He had become incredibly, incredibly lazy. How could this have happened? Back in L.A., he wasn't exactly spotless, but he never let his room get _this_ bad. Maybe he had been hanging around Murasakibara too much...

After collecting up the photographs and momentos from his mother, Kagami tucked them away underneath his jacket and left his house. It was on route to Kuroko's when he had bumped, literally _bumped_, into Kise.

"Oof!" the small pup barked. "Ooh! Kagamicchi, hi!"

"Geez, Kise, I'm so sorry about that," Kagami apologized. "I honestly didn't see you there."

Rocking to and fro on his heels, Kise smirked rather deviously at Kagami, and asked, "Are you in a hurry to get somewhere-ssu?"

Even though he knew he had no reason to be embarrassed, Kagami felt a distinctive heat rise from the center of his chest to the base of his neck, all the way up to the very tips of his ears. "Not really a hurry, no. I'm just going over to hang out at Kuroko's," he explained. "We're going to look at some pictures together."

Kise's smirk was gone in an instant, only to be replaced by something much more genuine. "Is that so? I'm glad..."

"Glad? Why are you glad?"

Kise shook his head at that. "I don't know. I just, I'm glad-ssu. You remember it, don't you? Before you showed up, Kurokocchi never came out of his house. And when he did, it was only on super duper rare occasions, like Himurocchi's goodbye party, for example."

"I guess you have a point there," Kagami nodded.

"I _know_ I have a point. Kagamicchi, this might sound really cheesy, but I'm going to say it anyway, because I'm secretly just a big ball of cheese. You've _changed_ him. For the better, I would say-ssu. Even though he still doesn't socialize as much as I would like for him to, he's starting, and he's starting with you."

Kagami didn't know what to say to that. His mouth had fallen agape and his eyes were wide with stupidity. When the chilling sensation of a snowflake tickling his lip had pulled him back to reality, Kagami snapped his mouth shut and cleared his throat. "I, uh..." he stammered, "Well, thanks, I guess."

Kise smiled warmly, and giggled, "No, thank _you_, Kagamicchi! Thank you for allowing Kurokocchi to find a friend in you!"

* * *

"I thought you bailed out on me," Kuroko murmured, opening the door for Kagami after his third round of knocks.

"Tch, I'd never do that," Kagami scoffed, and allowed himself inside.

Closing the door behind him, Kuroko turned to Kagami and asked, "Did something happen?"

"No, not at all." Kagami busied himself with removing his scarf and his jacket; there was no way he would be needing them in here. It was one of the things that Kagami absolutely _loved_ about Kuroko's cottage: he always kept the place really, really warm. "I mean, I ran into Kise on my way over, so I guess that delayed me a bit."

"Really? Did you have a conversation with him?"

"A brief one. We didn't really talk about too much." Kagami knew that it was a bit of a lie, but he really didn't want to just come out and say, "Oh yeah! We had the most pleasant of conversations! We talked all about you, too. Basically, you were our topic of discussion."

"I'm surprised," Kuroko said, carefully taking a seat on his ranch sofa. "I didn't think any conversation with Kise could ever be brief."

Kagami merely chuckled at that, moving to sit next to Kuroko on the sofa. He pulled out his stack of photos and laid them out onto the coffee table before them.

"Alright," he began, getting ready to explain each and every photo to Kuroko, "this one right here, that's my house. It's the one I grew up in. Up until last year, I've lived there my entire life."

"I see..." Kuroko nodded. "And that one?" He pointed to a photo of Kagami's parents.

"Yeah, those are my parents. That's my mom," he pointed to his mother, "and that's my dad," he pointed to his father. "Everyone says I look more like my mom. What do you think?"

Kuroko gave Kagami a quick once over and nodded. "I agree. You do resemble her."

"Oh! Here, look at this one, Kuroko!" Kagami spoke eagerly. He had picked up a picture of himself from the very first time he had gone surfing. "This is what an L.A. beach looks like. A _real _beach. Isn't it awesome? Oh, and this is what it looks like at sunset. Man, I'm so glad my mom sent these over...Kuroko?"

Kagami could tell that he had lost him. Kuroko's eyes, normally dull and borderline lifeless, had become so full of energy and excitement. They were absolutely glued to both images, and Kagami could see that Kuroko held a strong fascination for each of them.

"Hey, Kuroko...?" he tried again, this time giving the cat a gentle shake of his shoulder.

Coming to with a start, Kuroko quickly turned his gaze to meet with Kagami's. "Yes?"

"What's up? You looked really different just now. Like you were mesmerized, or something."

"It's..." Kuroko's attention was drawn back to the photographs. "I'm sorry, but they're just so beautiful, Kagami. I don't think I can help myself from staring."

Kagami gave a soft laugh. _'Wow,' _he mused, _'he's so honest.'_

"Is it okay if I look at them for a bit longer? These two in particular?" Kuroko asked. He had questioned him in such a gentle way that Kagami couldn't possibly imagine anyone ever saying no to such a sweet inquiry.

"You know what," Kagami breathed, standing up and stretching his lower back, "why don't you keep 'em for yourself? I mean, you probably don't want this one with me in it," he plucked the photograph of his first surfing endeavor from Kuroko's paws, "but you can keep that one. Do you have a frame for it?"

"I'm sure I could buy one," Kuroko answered, "but, Kagami, are you sure? You'd really allow me to keep this? Isn't it from your mother? Don't you want to keep it for yourself?"

"Nah, don't worry about it," Kagami smiled. "I _lived_ there. I know what it's like. You on the other hand, you've never even seen anything like this before, right?"

"I have not, no."

"Right. So until I can take you to L.A. with me, this will have to do."

Kuroko blinked. "Pardon?"

Kagami blinked, as well. "What?"

"What you just said," Kuroko responded. "You want me to go to L.A. with you?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, eventually. I think it'd be pretty cool, don't you?"

Kuroko didn't say a word; he only nodded and began admiring the photograph that Kagami had gifted him with once more.

_'Very cool, Kagami. Very cool, indeed.'_

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! :D_

_I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Kagami and Kuroko are really starting to get along with one another now, aren't they? I hope you like their interactions!_

_Thank you for taking the time to read! (:_

_- Chappy_


	16. You Are My Valentine

_Dear, Mom,_

_Thank you for the Valentine's Day_

_chocolates. Surprisingly, they didn't_

_melt at all! I gave a few chocolates_

_to one of my friends today. Is that weird?_

_Friends give each other chocolates, right?_

_ I gave some to Kuroko. Taiga._

* * *

The moment he had done it, the moment he had even _thought_ about doing it, Kagami knew that things were going to get weird.

"What are these for, Kagami?" Kuroko asked, curiously looking down at the heart-shaped box within his paws.

Kagami scratched the back of his head awkwardly. How could he explain something like this to Kuroko without it seeming strange? "Well, uh, you know what today is, right?"

"Valentine's Day, correct?" Kuroko questioned, his ears twitching slightly. "I read up on it a while ago. It's not a very big event here in Kiseki, but February 14th is Valentine's Day, yes?"

Kagami nodded. "Yeah, so..." Could he really do this? Chocolates were given to lovers, not to friends; at least, that was the impression that he had be given, based on past experiences with the holiday.

"So...? These chocolates?" Kuroko persisted. "What are they-"

"Kagamicchi!"

_'Oh God, not now...'_ Kagami inwardly groaned.

"Kagamicchi, Kagamicchi!" Kise yipped, rushing over to where Kuroko and Kagami stood, having a grand 'ole awkward time. Digging his heels into the ground to stop himself from bounding into them, Kise looked up at Kagami with an expression of absolute excitement, as he announced, "This is for you!"

"For me?" Kagami asked. "What is it?"

"Just hold out your hands-ssu!" Kise insisted. "Stop being so difficult!"

_'Am I really being that difficult?' _Regardless, Kagami obediently held out his hands, just like Kise had asked. When he did, he was presented with a tiny envelope and the order to, "Wait until you get home to open it!" And just like that, Kise was scampering off again.

"Are you going to wait?"

"Huh? What?" Kagami asked. It was apparent that he was more than a bit flustered by what had just occurred. There was no doubting it; the letter than Kise had given to him was a Valentine. If the heart sticker that sealed the envelope shut wasn't an indicator, Kagami didn't know what was.

"Are you going to wait?" Kuroko repeated. "Or maybe you'll open it right now?" Somehow, with the way that Kuroko's tail was slowly swaying back and forth, almost as if taunting him, Kagami had a feeling that the feline was hoping for the latter.

"I think I'll wait until I get home," Kagami responded, giving the letter one last glance before putting it into his pocket. "But anyways, back to what you were saying before-"

"What _were _you saying before?"

_'Not again...'_

Turning at the sound of an all-too-familiar voice, Kagami's suspicions as to who that silky smooth tone had belonged to were confirmed. "Akashi, hi," he greeted, not seeming very pleased (which, really, he wasn't).

"Hello," Akashi purred, his tail flitting enchantingly. "And hello to you, too, Kuroko."

Kuroko returned the greeting with a mere nod.

"What are you doing here, Akashi?" Kagami questioned. He hadn't realized it until he had already begun speaking, but he had ended up sounding oddly aggressive.

"Well, well, well," Akashi snickered, "what do we have here? Is someone in a bad mood? It's Valentine's Day. You should be happy; you should be spending it with your lover. Unless..." his eyes narrowed teasingly, "...you already are-"

"No!" Kagami shouted. "No, no, no! It's not like that at all! Don't even start getting weird ideas like that!"

Even though Kagami's reaction had been just what Akashi was looking for, the feline shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "If that's the case, then allow me to give you this." He handed him a letter, one that was a lot more eloquent in style than Kise's had been. "Take care now, you two."

* * *

"This is getting weird," Kuroko muttered. He and Kagami had changed locations, and were now enjoying a cup of piping hot coffee at The Roost.

"I couldn't agree more," Kagami sighed, rubbing his hands against his face. In the past hour, after he had received Valentines from Kise and Akashi, he had also received two more, the newer ones being from Midorima and Murasakibara. "I just don't get it. I don't know why, but I was under the impression that everyone hated me here."

"What would make you think that, Kagami?"

"Yo."

_'For the love of-'_

"Aomine," Kagami sighed again, this time in acknowledgment of the scruffy wolf that had just entered The Roost.

"Again, yo," Aomine nodded. "What are you doing here all alone?"

Kagami cocked a brow at him. "I'm not alone. I'm with Kuro...ko?" No, he wasn't; not anymore, at least. Without notice, Kuroko had disappeared.

"You okay? You didn't eat too many chocolates, did you?" Aomine smirked, nudging Kagami's leg with the pads of his paw.

"I'm perfectly fine. I didn't even have any chocolate..."

"There is...a spoonful of chocolate drizzle in your coffee, coo..." Brewster quietly admitted, quickly returning his attention back to the cup that he was tediously drying.

Aomine laughed and slapped Kagami on the back. "Liar alert!" he howled.

"Shut up."

"Hey, don't get brash with me. I came all the way over here to give you a Valentine, after all."

As if the day couldn't get any weirder, Aomine had to go and say something like that. "...What?"

"Yeah, yeah, you heard me," Aomine groaned. "It's nothing special. I mean, I'm giving them out to everyone, so...hey! Don't look at me like that! It's nothing personal!"

Not buying a word that Aomine had just said, Kagami smirked, and said, "Admit it; my Valetine was the one that you put the most thought into."

"Oh, shut up," Aomine growled, slamming the envelope down onto the counter. "Just take it and rip it up when you're done reading it. Bye."

Laughing the entire time that Aomine had fumbled with the door for his dramatic exit, Kagami finished his coffee, tipped Brewster handsomely for his services, and made his way out of the coffee shoppe. He had to find Kuroko.

Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard.

"Hey, why'd you run off like that?" Kagami asked, quickening his step to catch up with his friend.

"Because," was Kuroko's simple response.

"Because? Because what? Was it because of-" Kagami stopped himself. He needn't ask. He had already come to the conclusion himself.

"Kagami, why did you give me those chocolates this morning?"

"Huh? Oh, right..._that_," Kagami whispered. Okay, this was starting to get ridiculous. What was there to be nervous about, anyways? It was just Kuroko. It was _just_ Kuroko. It was just _Kuroko_.

"...Kagami?" The adolescent was boasting a bright pair of rosy cheeks, something that concerned the questioning feline.

"You're special to me!" Kagami suddenly shouted. "You're special to me, Kuroko! That's why I gave those chocolates to you! I don't even know if you like chocolate. Crap, I should have asked first. Do you like chocolate, Kuroko?"

"I prefer vanilla."

"Crap..." Running his hands through his hair, Kagami shook his head and settled his thoughts, before continuing, "Like I was saying, though...you're special to me. I know we've only been close friends for a short while now, but I feel like I can really trust you, you know? It's like, you're the shadow to my light, or something silly like that."

"That's a silly way of putting it, Kagami."

"I know it is! But it's true, right?"

The expectant look that Kagami was giving him prompted Kuroko to answer, "I suppose so, yes."

Placing a hand to his chest and sighing with relief, Kagami nodded, finally mustering up the courage to boldly ask, "Am I special to you, too, Kuroko? I mean, not to be rude or anything, but you were the only one who didn't give me a-"

Within seconds, a small, handmade paper heart was in front of Kagami's face. Was this _really_ happening? "It's for you," Kuroko murmured. Apparently, it really was.

"It's a...?"

"A Valentine."

"For me?"

"For you."

"Uh...thanks..."

"Take it."

Kagami took it. He felt like a jerk for presuming that Kuroko wasn't going to give him anything, now. In the end, maybe the fragile little feline had just been waiting for the opportune moment.

"You're special to me, too, Kagami," Kuroko smiled, showing Kagami one of those rare sights that could only be seen for the flash of a moment.

"Yeah?" Kagami flushed.

"Yeah," Kuroko nodded. "And, Kagami?"

"Yes, Kuroko?"

"Happy Valentine's Day."

* * *

**Kise's Valentine **

_Kagamicchi!_

_Happy Valentine's Day-ssu!_

_Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy_

_happy, happy, happy, happy, happy_

_happy-ssu! Have a happy, happy _

_Valentine's Day-ssu!_

**Akashi's Valentine**

_Dearest Taiga,_

_Have the happiest of days today._

_After all, it is Valentine's Day._

**Midorima's Valentine**

_Kagami,_

_Happy Valentine's Day, nanodayo._

**Murasakibara's Valentine**

_Kagami..._

_Give me chocolates..._

_I want chocolates..._

_Chocolates..._

**Aomine's Valentine**

_Yo. _

_Happy Valentine's._

**Kuroko's Valentine**

_Kagami,_

_You are very special to me._

_Happy Valentine's Day._

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! :D_

_Wow, it feels so weird to be writing about Valentine's Day in September. But alas, the story must progress!_

_I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading!_

_- Chappy_


	17. It's Been A Year

_Dear, Mom,_

_I can't believe it's already been a_

_year. Can you? It some ways, it feels_

_like just yesterday, when I pulled up_

_into Kiseki Village, but in many more, _

_it feels like I've been here forever. I_

_don't mean that in a bad way, though!_

_I really love it here. I really do._

_ Regardless, I'm coming to visit soon. Taiga._

* * *

When Kagami woke up that morning, he couldn't have been happier. The smell of fresh April air spilled into his bedroom through his window, leaving a clean scent that filled his nasal passages with every inhale. This is what he had been yearning for all winter, and finally, it was here.

Spring.

Kagami was sure that he had been the only person in Kiseki to have had a countdown for the much awaited season, but didn't care. He was a Californian at heart, and gosh, he wasn't afraid to express it.

Quickly getting dressed, Kagami threw on a pair of long basketball shorts, a loose-fitting tee, and a light sweat jacket for good measure. He and Kuroko had planned on meeting up, so he wasn't at all surprised to see the light blue feline waiting patiently for him at his front door.

"Would you like to go fishing by the river today, Kagami?" Kuroko asked, stepping over a few pebbles as he and Kagami moved down the front of his walk.

"Fishing?" Kagami countered. "Shoot, I didn't bring my rod. Maybe we could just sit by it instead?"

Kuroko nodded, seeming to like that idea just as much. "Sure. That's fine, too."

* * *

Although it was still a bit chilly, Kagami sat down onto the grassy bank, slipped off his sneakers, and dipped his feet into the water. "Ahh..." he sighed. "You should do this, too, Kuroko. It's really refreshing..."

"I'm not a big fan of having water touch me," Kuroko muttered, tucking his feet beneath his bottom as he sat next to Kagami.

"Right. Cat."

Curiously, Kagami's eyes drifted downward. His gaze immediately latched onto Kuroko's long tail. It's constant swish and sway was all too taunting. Ironically, it was like he was making the connection for the very first time: Kuroko was, indeed, a cat.

With a swift motion, Kagami grabbed a hold of Kuroko's tail and dunked the tip of it into the river. It took only a moment, but he felt it as his friend had seized up entirely.

Hissing at the chill, Kuroko quickly stood up and backed away from the water. Even with his rigid demeanor - the look of someone who had just been absolutely and utterly betrayed - the feline was able to upkeep a monotonous tone, as he calmly asked, "...What was that for, Kagami?"

Suppressing laughter, Kagami shook his head and held up a hand in his defense. "Honestly, I'm not all that sure myself," he snickered. "For a second there, I really just wanted to see your reaction. Sorry if I overstepped a boundary, or anything like that."

Kuroko stared at Kagami, a stare so blank that the teenager began feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Hey..." he tried. Pulling his feet out of the water, he walked over to where Kuroko had backed himself up to. "Look, I said I was sorry. Please don't get mad at me over something like this. It was-"

"I'm not mad," Kuroko interrupted.

There was an underlying emptiness in his voice that had prompted Kagami to question, "Hey, is everything alright? You seem kind of down."

It took Kuroko a minute or two before responding. It looked to Kagami like he was desperately trying to organize this thoughts, not wanting to come out and say the wrong thing. With a careful exposure about him, Kuroko looked up to Kagami with remorseful eyes and a pair of flattening ears. He said, "For a moment, just a moment, your actions had reminded me of Aomine. Sticking my tail in the river, that's exactly something he would have done."

With a response like that, Kagami was left at a loss of words. How could he even come up with something to say to that? It was like the mood of the morning had just taken a spin on a merry-go-round. First, things had been comfy. After that, they had gotten a bit tense. Now, they were just out right awkward. _'Aomine...'_ Kagami thought, _'what you did to Kuroko, what you put him through, it still hurts him to this day.'_ Without realizing it, he had begun to clench his fists.

"Kagami," Kuroko said for the third time, a detail unbeknownst to the boy he was trying to talk to.

"Oh. Yeah?"

"I want to tell you something," he said gently, "but it may take a while. Would you care to listen?"

Kagami felt a sense of anxiety seep into his veins. With his heart rate accelerating and his skin suddenly feeling all-too-hot for the first day of April, he nodded and he and Kuroko both sat back down next to the river.

* * *

"...Aomine and I were best friends, but I'm sure you already knew that," Kuroko slowly began, making it clear to Kagami that this was a hard topic for him to be discussing. He knew that, and Kagami mentally praised the feline for his bravery.

"I did, yes," Kagami affirmed. "I've already heard Aomine's side of this story, but I'd very much like to hear your own. In fact, your side is the one that I've wanted to know from the very beginning. From the moment that I learned of your mysterious existence, I secretly wanted to know what you were all about, so, Kuroko, if you don't mind..."

"I will tell you, Kagami," Kuroko whispered, seeming even more unsure of himself, due to the added pressure. "Please bear with me."

* * *

For the next hour and a half, Kuroko spoke quietly of himself, his reclusion, and about the times that he and Aomine had shared with one another. Some of the stories that he told sounded ridiculously fun, too. Late night fishing escapades, early morning bug catching contests, and midday mischievous behaviors. One story in particular had caused Kuroko's demeanor to change entirely. He seemed livelier, happier.

"We played a prank on Kise," he admitted, a devilish glint overtaking his innocent irises.

"You did not," Kagami chuckled, feeling naughty for even thinking of such a thing.

"We did. The night before a full moon, Aomine and I planted flowers all around his house in strange patterns and arrangements. He was convinced for the longest time that aliens and werewolves had done it. To this day, I swear that he still believes it was some sort of extraterrestrial power that had caused it to happen, even though we fessed up to the crime about a week afterward."

Laughing hysterically, Kagami slapped Kuroko on his shoulder and shouted, "Oh my God, Kuroko! Before you got all anti-social and stuff, it seems like you were lots of fun!"

Kuroko knew that Kagami hadn't meant any ill-will with his words, but it was hard for them to have not struck a chord. "Yeah..." he breathed. "Things were a lot different back then. But you know what, Kagami?"

Genuinely curious, Kagami wondered, "What?"

"This is what I've been wanting to tell you from the start of our conversation," Kuroko whispered. "I'm not going to think about it anymore. Holding a grudge, it's tiring. I'm not saying that Aomine and I are going to become as close as we once were, but I've recently decided that I'd like to start again. Almost as if I'm restarting myself."

"Wow..." was the first thing that had slipped out of Kagami's mouth, followed by, "Kuroko, I am so proud of you."

"You're...proud of me?" The slight expectation that could be seen in the feline's perky ears was adorable to Kagami, it really was.

"Yeah, I am. Seriously, give yourself a pat on the back. No, scratch that. I'll do it for you." Giving his friend a hardy slap, Kagami continued, "That was a major decision just now, and wow. Just, bravo to you."

Kuroko, clearly very pleased with Kagami's words of praise, retreated his gaze and looked down at his tiny, kitty feet. "Well, thank you, Kagami," he spoke softly. "I hope I don't disappoint."

"I highly doubt something like that. Say, how about we celebrate? We'll celebrate you, because you've just made a big leap in your conversion process of becoming a more social being. Geez, I sounded like Kise just now. He's going to be really happy to hear that you're starting over, by the way. And we'll also celebrate me. It is my one-year anniversary of being in Kiseki, after all."

"Oh, yes. That's right," Kuroko nodded, not hiding the fact that he had nearly forgotten. "But, Kagami, how will we celebrate?"

"You and I, let's watch some tapped reruns that I have of the March Madness basketball games."

"You know what?" Kuroko smiled, one of those rare sights that was becoming surprisingly more common. "I'd really like that."

* * *

_P.S. A lot has happened this year. I got a job, _

_and I got let go; I've made many friends, and _

_I lost a fishing tournament; I watched a friend _

_move away, and I survived a wicked storm; I _

_had an awesome birthday, and I collected way _

_too many acorns; I met Kuroko, and I saw my _

_first snowfall; I celebrated the New Year, and _

_Valentine's Day wasn't too long after that. _

_Mom, it's been a great year. I really feel like this _

_adventure has been well worth my while._

_ I'll see you soon. Taiga._

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! :D_

_This story is really starting to wind down now. Only four chapters left! Will there be a conflict? Will something bad happen? We just don't know._

_And with that pleasant thought, thank you very much for taking the time to read! I hope you've enjoyed!_

_- Chappy_


	18. Back to LA

_Hey, Mom,_

_I'm sending this to you, before I_

_leave. I wonder who will arrive first:_

_me or my letter? Probably me, though,_

_now that I think about it, Pete has really _

_been stepping up his game lately._

_Whatever the case, I'll see you soon._

_ It'll feel weird to be back in L.A. Taiga._

* * *

"Kagamicchi! You can't leave-ssu! You just can't leave!" Kise wailed, clinging to the boy's leg as if for dear life. Even though they had all known for a good month or so now that Kagami was going to take a short trip back to Los Angeles, the actual date of his departure was still a sad one.

"It's only for a week," Kagami reassured, patting Kise's head. The pup appreciated the kind gesture; little did he know that Kagami was mostly doing it with the hopes of getting him to let go of his leg. "I'll be back before you know it."

"That's too long! It's too long!" Kise continued to cry. He nuzzled his nose into Kagami's shin and whimpered. "I'm already starting to miss you and you're not even gone yet!"

They all laughed at that, all meaning every single resident of Kiseki Village. Kagami had never asked for such a grand send off; it's not like he was leaving forever. If that had been the case, he could bet any bells that Kise would have never let him go.

"It's just a week," Kagami repeated, throwing his duffle bag over his shoulder. "That's seven days. I think you'll all be fine."

"You're going to miss the Fishing Tournament!" Kise realized, hitting his tiny paws against Kagami's leg. "You can't miss it, right? You'll stay, right-ssu?"

"I'm sure missing one tournament won't hurt me," the teenager chuckled. "It's not like I could ever win, when we got that one over there, and that one other there." He was pointing at both Aomine and Kuroko, who had recently begun speaking with one another again.

Aomine shoved Murasakibara (who had apparently been in his way) out of the way and struck a mighty pose. "That's right!" he declared. "No one can beat me! The only one who can beat me is-"

"Me, actually," Kuroko interjected. "I've won the last three tournaments." Again, everyone began to laugh. It was moments such as this that made Kagami feel like he was living in a sitcom.

"Well, guys," Kagami breathed, "I'd better getting going, or this train is going to leave without me." He shot a thumb back at the train station to emphasize his point. "But really, it was nice of you all to come out here and say goodbye to me."

"But it's not goodbye!" Kise interrupted. "Goodbye is when it's forever, right-ssu? And this isn't forever!"

"You're right, you're right," Kagami sighed. He ruffled his hair pensively, trying to come up with something better to say. "How about...'see you all really soon'?" With the way that Kise's face had instantly lit up, he knew that he had picked something decent.

"Such a lovely thing to say!" Pelly smiled, clapping her wings together to applaud Kagami's word choice. "Let's all say it together!"

"Together...?" Murasakibara droned.

"A wonderful idea, Pelly," Akashi purred.

"Let's just get this over with, nanodayo," Midorima scoffed.

"Midorimacchi, you're going to miss Kagamicchi, too. Don't even try to pretend," Kise grumbled. To that, Midorima harrumphed.

"Okay!" Pelly announced. "On three, everyone!" Kagami readied himself, while everyone else straightened and clasped each other's hands. "One..." They smiled brightly. "Two..." They held their hands tightly. "Three!"

"We'll see you really soon!"

* * *

Shifting restlessly in his cramped plane seat, Kagami sighed and searched through his iPod playlists for something to listen to. Nothing was all that appealing to him, so he decided to take a gamble and set it on shuffle. Surprisingly, some of the best songs that he had on there began to play. _'Just two more hours, until we land. With three minutes per song, that's like...what? Forty songs that I have to listen to?'_

Just as he was figuring out his mental calculations, a kindly air stewardess walked down the aisle and began asking if any of the passengers needed anything. When she approached Kagami, he nodded to her and said, "I'll have a ginger ale, please."

"Sure thing," she smiled, taking note of his order.

Kicking back in his seat, Kagami sighed again and closed his eyes. He wasn't the type of person that could sleep while flying; he had to be alert at all times. It was lucky for him that he was only dealing with a five-hour flight, three hours of that having already been knocked off, otherwise he could have ended up being severely jet lagged.

"Your ginger ale, sir," the stewardess stated, after coming back a few minutes later, pulling Kagami's attention from the chorus of _Chasing Cars_.

"Thank you," he said, graciously accepting his bubbly beverage. Taking a sip, then another, Kagami stuck his drink into the cup holder of his seat tray. As if he didn't feel cramped for space before, now all of his breathing room was pretty much occupied. _'Just two more hours,'_ he told himself again._ 'Two more...oh!'_

Suddenly remembering something, Kagami quickly reached for his duffle bag - which was laying beneath his feet - and pulled it up into his lap. As he rummaged through his belongings, Kuroko's gentle words of temporary farewell echoed throughout his mind.

_'Be sure to read this, when you're on the plane.'_

Pulling a letter out from underneath some of his socks and sweatpants, Kagami flipped the envelope over so that he was viewing the front. On it, his name had been inked in nearly perfect handwriting.

Zipping up his duffle and tossing it back under his feet, Kagami began to open the letter, a bit jittery as to what Kuroko had to say. _'Couldn't he have just told me in person?'_ he wondered, but whatever the case, he carefully pulled the stationary out from the envelope and began reading.

_Dear Kagami,_

_I know I very well could have_

_told you this face-to-face, but_

_I figured that a letter might be a _

_good way for you to remember_

_your way home. Take that as you_

_will, I hope you have a safe journey._

_I'm sure your parents miss you and_

_are happy to have the chance to visit_

_with you. But that is not your home_

_anymore. Your home is here with us,_

_here in Kiseki. Please don't forget that._

_ I look forward to your return. Kuroko._

Fighting back the will to shed a few, burly tears, he rubbed his eyes and set the letter down. Taking another sip from his ginger ale to wash away the lump in his throat, Kagami looked up at the small airplane window. With determination, he balled his hand into a fist and lightly pounded it against the thick glass. "I'll be back soon," he whispered. "Don't worry; I haven't forgotten where my home is."

* * *

Kagami's ears had popped, upon landing. He honestly couldn't have been happier to see the ground again. Grabbing his belongings and exiting the plane as fast as the line of people in front of him would allow, the eager teen lugged his duffle over his shoulder and through the tunnel. Once he had made his way out, he could clearly see his parents waiting for him at his gate. "Mom...Dad..." he whispered with disbelief.

"Taiga!" his mother called out, dropping the cheesy little white board sign that she had had in her hands, opting to rush over toward her son instead. Once she had made it over to him, she wrapped her arms around her son in a suffocatingly sweet embrace. "I've missed you so much!"

"Mom..." Kagami groaned, trying to wiggle his way out of his mother's hold. "I can't breathe-"

"Oh, you're just being silly," she giggled, squeezing him tighter.

"Mom-"

"You should have done this sooner, Taiga! It's been over a year! Don't you know what that does to a mother's heart?"

"Mom-!"

"Hun," Kagami's father stepped in, resting a hand on his wife's shoulder. "I think you should let go of him now. He's turning blue."

Reluctantly releasing her son, Kagami's mother sighed and shook her head. "I wouldn't have had to hug him like that if he would have given us a call every now and then."

"I told you, Mom," Kagami reasoned, "the phone service out there is weird. I've been sending you letters-"

"Letters aren't enough!" she protested. "I need to hear my baby's voice!"

"Mom, I'm not a baby-"

"Oh, you'll always be a baby to me," she cooed, closing in on him once again.

"Mom-!"

* * *

The ride home wasn't nearly as long as the flight had been; in fact, it was only forty-five minutes. All the while, his mother told him all about the things that had happened on their end, such as his eldest cousin getting married, his grandmother's retirement, and his father's promotion at work. By the time that it was Kagami's turn to talk, they were already pulling into the front drive of his childhood house.

"I sure hope you haven't forgotten where your bedroom is!" his mother laughed, unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping out of the car.

"I'm fine, Mom," Kagami sighed, grabbing his duffle bag and getting out of the car, as well. "Like I could forget something like that." But actually, he did. Walking through the front door, Kagami found himself a bit lost. Where was his cabana sofa? Where was his exotic lamp? His CD player? His bonsai?

"Up the stairs, Kagami," his mother said, nudging his arm. "See? I knew you would forget!"

"I didn't forget!" Kagami lied, but he knew he wasn't fooling anyone. Tightening his grip on his duffle, he ascended the stairs and paused. "Uh..."

"To the left, dear. The last door on the left."

"Right. I totally knew that."

In his room, his room that had been left untouched (save for the periodic dusting and cleaning that his mother had done) for over a year, Kagami felt out of place. "I just...need to get adjusted," he breathed. He ran a hand through his mop of messy red hair and sat down on the edge of his bed. Before long, he was laying down, and soon after that, he had fallen asleep.

* * *

Adjusting had happened a lot quicker than expected. By the time he had woken up the next morning, Kagami was ready to go out and catch some waves, some _real_ waves. After that, he met up with some of his old friends from middle school, chatting about the good times and what had happened during their small hiatus from each other. Minutes melted into hours, and hours melted into days (melted being an appropriate word, because it was just so darn hot in California). Before he knew it, Kagami's week in L.A. was up, that is, it was _supposed_ to be.

"It wouldn't hurt to stay...one more week, would it?" he asked himself, and it was with that mindset that had allowed himself to stay in Los Angeles for not just another week, but an entire year.

* * *

_Hello there! Chappy here! :D_

_I know this chapter ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger (an angst-worthy cliffhanger), but fear not! Next week's chapter will be...well, actually...yeah, no. Next week's chapter is going to be just as sad (if not much, much sadder)._

_Regardless, hang in there, my faithful readers! The end is near!_

_Thank you for taking the time to read!_

_I hope you've enjoyed! (:_

_- Chappy_


	19. Kagami, Come Home

**Kuroko's POV**

* * *

After Kagami's train had departed, the crowd of townspeople dispersed, all going off in their own, separate directions. The only one who lingered was Kuroko. He remained there, standing in the station square, staring at barren train tracks that once held Kagami's mode of transportation. Even with tens and twenties of minutes passing him by, Kuroko did not move; even when the wind picked up and the sun began to fall behind the cliffside, he was stagnant.

"He'll come back, Kurokocchi," Kise's gentle voice whispered, pulling the fragile feline out of his thoughts and back to the surface. Somehow, his friend had been able to sneak up behind him without any notice, an incredible feat for such a perky pup.

"Yeah," Kuroko nodded, looking down at his tiny, little feet. "He will. He promised me that he would." He rose his head to meet with Kise's reassuring gaze. "Just one week. It'll be just one week."

It was unbeknownst to him that one, innocent week would be multiplied by fifty-two.

* * *

Returning home much later in the evening, Kuroko made himself comfy, settled into his ranch sofa, and began to leisurely read one of his most favourite books, _The End of A Sentence Begins Another_. Halfway into the third chapter, he found his mind beginning to wander. _'I wonder what Kagami is doing right now,'_ he wondered, carefully resting the book down onto his lap. _'I wonder if he arrived safely...'_

Before he knew it, Kuroko was up and about, searching through his office desk's drawers for some sort of stationery. Discovering three four-packs of essay paper, the feline took out a small pencil and began jotting down all of his thoughts and feelings.

_Dear Kagami,_

_Today, you left for Los Angeles. I know_

_this letter is a bit redundant of what we_

_said to one another before you left, and_

_also of what I wrote in the letter that I gave _

_to you before your embarkment, but I_

_feel as if I can't stress this enough, Kagami:_

_please remember where your home is._

_A year ago, your home was with your _

_parents in California, but now, your home _

_is here in Kiseki Village. It's here with Kise,_

_here with Midorima, here with Aomine;_

_here with Murasakibara, here with Akashi,_

_and here with me. Please travel safely, but_

_also, return home just as well._

_ Until then. Kuroko._

He hadn't been planning on sending the letter, no; Kuroko was merely looking for a way to effectively get out all of the swarming thoughts that took over his head and masked his focus. And it had worked...for the most part.

An hour later, Kuroko was back at his desk, pulling out his pencil and the very same piece of paper, quickly adding:

_P.S. I think I saw Midorima crying after_

_you left. He really is going to miss you,_

_too. Don't let his stoic nature fool you._

Flash forward a week, one that had gone far too slowly for everyone's desired standards, and all the residents of Kiseki Village were, once again, gathering around the train station, waiting for their human friend to come home. When the hour had passed for Kagami to arrive, no one was particularly worried. Maybe his flight had been delayed and he would be arriving at a later time. When the day had passed, everyone figured tomorrow for sure. Seven days gone and, while a tad concerned, it was the consensual understanding that he had missed his parents so much that he decided to enjoy one more week under the Californian sun.

But when one month had passed, and April was giving way to May, all hope had been lost. Without a single letter of warning, the general idea had finally come to be accepted: Kagami wasn't coming back.

Still, Kuroko had much more to say. He didn't want to believe it, of course he didn't. With his pencil and his paper, he turned to writing letters, a therapy that no one around him could quite understand.

* * *

**May**

_Dear Kagami,_

_Something must have happened back_

_in L.A. and that's why you've decided_

_to stay, right? You're not doing it of_

_your own accord, correct? Maybe_

_your mother has gotten sick and needs_

_you to take care of her? Or possibly_

_your father lost his job and needs you_

_to work part-time to help support the_

_family? Whatever the case, I know _

_you'll come back. We made a promise,_

_remember? Although you've already_

_broken the first part of it, about how_

_you said you'd return in a week, I_

_know you'll be back._

_ And I'll be waiting for you. Kuroko._

* * *

**June**

_Dear Kagami,_

_How are you? I bet it's really hot_

_out in California. I read that it gets_

_pretty humid over there, during the_

_summer. Right now, we're experiencing_

_our rainy season. It's rained every day_

_for the past three weeks. It's true. _

_Gyroids are everywhere, but there's just_

_so many of them that we can't dig them_

_all up. If only you were here to help us..._

_You'll be home for July, right? Remember_

_how we set off fireworks for Himuro's_

_farewell party? Maybe we can set them_

_off again in celebration of your return._

_ We'd have to get approval from the Mayor first. Kuroko._

* * *

**July**

_Dear Kagami,_

_It's the middle of the month now,_

_and Tom Nook has started selling_

_seedless watermelons. It's a huge_

_hit here; I think you'd like it. Just_

_yesterday, about an hour after the_

_shop had opened, all of the water-_

_melons had already been sold out._

_We were all pretty suspicious, until_

_we learned that seedless water_

_melons had been the luck item for_

_Cancers. So basically, Midorima_

_hoarded them all. In light of this _

_event, we've all decided that he is _

_no longer allowed to have any more_

_watermelon for the entire summer._

_He started crying. You probably would_

_have started laughing, I think. Then again,_

_I'm not entirely sure how you would have_

_reacted. It's strange, but I'm starting_

_to forget things about you...wait. What_

_was your name again?_

_ Just kidding. Kuroko._

* * *

**August**

_Dear Kagami,_

_I'm writing this to you on your_

_birthday. I wonder what you're_

_doing. Are you having fun with_

_family? With friends? As long as_

_you're having fun, nothing else_

_matters. What are we doing over_

_here? I wonder if you'd ask that._

_Honestly, I couldn't give you a_

_legitimate answer. I didn't go_

_outside today. Kise knocked on_

_my door, but I didn't answer. I_

_didn't feel like talking to him._

_I didn't feel like talking to_

_anyone. _

_ Maybe tomorrow. Kuroko._

_P.S. Happy birthday._

* * *

**September**

_Dear Kagami,_

_The leaves have already begun_

_to change, Kagami. It's really very_

_pretty. I can see them through my _

_window. I can also smell the autumn_

_air through my window, as well._

_Sometimes, I wish I still went on those_

_walks with you. You know, the ones we_

_took through the orchards? At a time like_

_this, I bet it would be so peaceful. Ah, _

_but one can only dream, right?_

_ I still dream that you will come home one day. Kuroko._

* * *

**October**

_Dear Kagami,_

_Kise visited with me today._

_Day after day of insisting that I _

_talk to someone, I finally let him in. _

_The first thing that he asked me was _

_if I was alright. The first thing that I asked _

_him was if he still believes that you were_

_coming home. He said no. I made him_

_leave. I'm angry with him. I'm angry_

_with everyone. They've all lost faith in you,_

_Kagami, but I know you'll be back. Our_

_promise, remember? You said you would_

_come home, to your real home._

_ You will, right? Kuroko._

* * *

**November**

Dear Kagami,

_I was a bit restless today, so_

_I decided to read a book. I sat_

_down in the morning with a cup_

_of coffee (not as good as the coffee_

_that Brewster makes, mind you) and_

_began reading. I had finished by_

_the end of the day. It was a romance_

_novel, filled with a wonderful plot_

_line of how the guy got the girl and_

_they both lived happily ever after._

_It's funny, because at one point, the_

_male protagonist had to venture off_

_to a different city, leaving the woman_

_he loved behind. Somehow, it felt_

_relatable. But it wasn't. There was_

_one distinction that set the story_

_apart from what you did._

_ He actually came back. Kuroko._

* * *

In the month of December, Kuroko had come down with a vicious illness, permitting him from writing his letter for a good portion of the month. When he finally had the strength to sit up for an extended period of time, he kept his passage brief, writing:

_Dear Kagami,_

_Christmas has just passed. The New_

_Year is going to be here before we_

_know it. "New Year, New Beginnings,"_

_right? Well, I think it's time I have a_

_new beginning for myself, as well._

_ Nothing's set in stone yet, though. Kuroko._

* * *

**January**

_Dear Kagami,_

_I've done some more thinking,_

_but I'm still on the fence about my_

_decision. It's funny; if you were here,_

_I wouldn't even be thinking about_

_something like this. You're not even_

_present, and yet, you're the one who's_

_influencing my plans for the future._

_Ah, it's just started to snow. I_

_remember how you used to hate the_

_snow. I wonder if you're thinking_

_about how glad you are that you_

_don't have to deal with it this year._

_ I should go lay down. Kuroko._

* * *

**February**

_Dear Kagami,_

_I told Kise that I wanted to leave_

_Kiseki Village today. He didn't_

_seem surprised, and said that if_

_he wasn't so tied to this place,_

_he would probably pack his things_

_and move off to some far and _

_distant land, too. I haven't made up_

_my mind yet, but I have started _

_cleaning up my house a bit, selling_

_and giving away the things that I don't_

_really use anymore. I still have that_

_picture of the ocean that you gave to_

_me, though._

_ I'll hold on to it. Kuroko._

* * *

**March**

_Dear Kagami,_

_I've made up my mind._

_Come the end of April, I'll_

_be packing up my things and_

_leaving Kiseki Village. It's been_

_a difficult process for me, but _

_this is the decision that I've made._

_I'm giving myself a month to_

_slowly work through this with the_

_small sliver of hope that maybe, just_

_maybe, our promise hasn't been _

_broken and you will still come home._

_ I just hope I'm still here when and if you do. Kuroko._

* * *

Kuroko had never seen so many boxes before. Boxes on the floor, boxes in the air, boxes on top of boxes. Basically, boxes everywhere. Packing had proved to be a lot of work, but when it was all said and done, Kuroko was proud of himself. He had done everything, even the extremely heavy lifting, all on his own.

Walking through the columns and rows of boxes that all surpassed him in height, Kuroko allowed his mind to wander. He'd been granting himself such a personal release for quite some time now. _'One year here,'_ Kuroko mused, _'one year gone. If this is the start of a pattern, Kagami, maybe this year...'_

No. It was unhealthy for him to think that way and he knew it. He'd already been through something like this once before, why would a second occurrence be any different?

On a different note, one thing that Kuroko had decided to leave behind in his travels was his office desk. He knew that wherever he went, he probably wouldn't have much use for it anyway. Regardless, he curiously rounded the side of its corner and opened up the front drawer.

There was only one sheet of essay paper left.

Swallowing hard and sitting down in his chair, Kuroko inhaled a deep breath and did the one thing that he knew how to do best: he wrote.

_Dear Kagami,_

_In life, things happen rather_

_unexpectedly, don't they? Did I _

_ever expect to be packing up my_

_things and leaving the only place _

_that I've ever called home? No, I_

_really didn't. Then again, I've never_

_expected you to be the indirect reason_

_of it all. Without you here, this town,_

_this village, it's not a home. It feels_

_empty. You brought the life to this place,_

_and when you left, you took it with you._

_But it's been a year, and honestly, I'm_

_tired of feeling lifeless. I need to spread_

_my paws and arch my back. I can't do_

_that here. No anymore. Even if I tried,_

_I'd just look like a meaningless fool._

_I don't blame you, Kagami. You are_

_entitled to happiness, too. My_

_happiness should not be your sacrifice._

_If you are doing well in Los Angeles, then_

_please, by all means, stay there. Just know_

_this...I won't be here when you get back._

_But don't worry, I don't hold you accountable_

_for your broken promise._

_ We all make promises that we can't keep sometimes. Kuroko._

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! :D_

_If you are still surviving after this chapter, please accept this medal: you are a survivor._

_I hope you enjoyed the change of pace from seeing things through Kuroko's eyes. Honestly, I had been looking forward to writing this chapter from all the way back when this story was still in its outlining stages. (:_

_It only goes up from here! I promise you! (And I won't break my promise like Kagami did.)_

_- Chappy_


	20. He's Returned

_Dear Kagamicchi,_

_Please read these letters. I did not _

_write them. I think reading them_

_will make you see that it's time for _

_you to come home now._

_ Again, I did not write these-ssu. Kise._

* * *

_4 days before Kuroko's moving date_

* * *

"Welp," Kise sighed, rubbing his forehead with the back of his paw, "I think that's the last of them, Kurokocchi! Are you really sure that you want to sell all of these things-ssu? Don't they hold some sort of special meaning?" The puppy was referring to Kuroko's vast collection of clocks, as well as his assortment of tea kettles and picture frames.

"I'm not going to have any room for them in my new home," Kuroko stated simply, as he moved from box to box, applied pressure with his tape gun, and sealed each package shut. "Besides, I want to restart my life. Start fresh, you know?"

"Fresh," Kise repeated thoughtfully. He hadn't hear Kuroko use such a word in quite some time, if ever, really. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Starting fresh-ssu, it's healthy. It's...?"

With the way that Kise's sentence - which was implied to be a statement - had rolled off into a question, it prompted the feline to ask, "Is something the matter, Kise?"

Kise paws were prodding around in a box that had been labeled "Documents" on the side of it with, what appeared to be, permanent black marker. What he had come across was a bit shocking, if not remorseful. "Kurokocchi..." he started slowly, raising his head in much the same fashion, "what are all of these letters addressed to Kagamicchi doing in here?"

Kise had never seen Kuroko's eyes grow so wide before. In an instant, the fuzzy feline had stalked his way over to the box, grabbed it out from underneath Kise's grasp, and tossed it off into an undisclosed location. "Kurokocchi-?"

"You shouldn't be looking through anyone's personal documents, Kise," Kuroko hummed lowly. "Especially when see something that has not been addressed to you."

Although he felt a bit ashamed, Kise was still very curious. Really, why had Kuroko kept all of those letters? And mostly, why did he write them in the first place? Kise would have to come up with an idea to occupy Kuroko's attention elsewhere. In that way, he would be able to poke and pry through whatever "personal documents" he had pleased. Yes, Detective Kise was on the case.

It was around noontime when he had come up with the perfect plan.

"Say, Kurokocchi," Kise began sweetly. Both he and Kuroko had decided to take a short break from taping up boxes to sit out on his front porch and enjoy the warm, April air. "Can I ask you something-ssu?"

"Sure," Kuroko nodded, his tail flitting expectantly behind his back. "What is it?"

"Well, I was just wondering...why did you forgive me?"

"Pardon?" Kuroko wasn't exactly understanding what Kise was getting at.

"It's just, I mean, I've said some cruel things to you in the past. You know, about Kagamicchi. I just, I never thought you would forgive me."

"Ah," Kuroko nodded once again, acknowledging Kise's thought. "I agree. At first, I didn't think I would forgive you, either."

"So..." Kise continued, "why did you?"

With his ears just barely twitching, Kuroko inhaled deeply, later exhaling with just as much strength. "You know," he murmured, his voice hardly audible over the soft gust of wind that had begun to rattle his outdoor wind chimes, "I've come to the conclusion that I can't blame the world for something that Kagami has done. It wasn't until recently that I've stopped blaming myself..."

"Kurokocchi..."

"Please let me finish, Kise," Kuroko whispered, countering his interruption. "Over the duration of this year, I've grown. Not physically, but mentally. Though, maybe a little bit physically; I feel like I've gained some muscle from lifting all of those boxes. Anyways, when Aomine left, I was in a dark place. I'm not proud of how I acted, I'm really not. It's the same with Kagami. I'm not proud of how I handled my emotions. I was pathetic, really. But not anymore. I'm ready to move on. I'm ready to become more independent in this life of mine. I've always been this sort of shadow-figure, leeching off of a light for truth and for guidance. But you know what they say, right?"

"What do they say, Kurokocchi?"

"If you stare into the light for too long, it'll blind you."

After their discussion, Kise had finally been able to work his plan into motion. Feigning hunger, the pup suggested that Kuroko make a quick run over to Nook 'n' Go and pick up something for them to eat. Reluctantly agreeing, the feline trotted off down the pathway that lead up to his cottage, veering left when he was met with the crossroads. Out of sight, out of mind, Kise raced back into Kuroko's house, heading straight for that very same box that was labeled "Documents".

He was a hypocrite, and he knew it.

* * *

"Taiga, sweetie! You've got some mail!"

Hearing his mother's call, Kagami tugged his earbuds out of his ears, the muffled sound of _Desperate Measures_ by Marianas Trench playing through the speakers. "What?" he shouted, returning the call. "I was listening to music. What did you say?"

Knocking on his bedroom door before entering, Kagami's mother peeked her head through the crack and repeated, "You have some mail. Look's like it's from...Kiseki Village? Taiga, isn't that the name of the little town that you lived in last year? I've wrote to you enough to recognize the name."

Wide-eyed and scatterbrained, Kagami quickly got up and opened his door for his mother. Yanking the thick, manilla envelope out of her hand, earning him a scolding of "You shouldn't grab things out of people's hands, Kagami", he surveyed the package for its sender, pleasantly surprised to see that it was Kise's name, neatly written, on the front of it.

"Dinner will be ready soon, Taiga," his mother informed, deciding to leave her son alone to open up his mail in private. "Be sure to wash your hands, before you come downstairs."

Agreeing to his mother's words, Kagami cleared a space on his desk for the envelope and sat back down. What had happened? Why was Kise sending him mail? Was everything okay?

Oh. Wait a minute. That's funny. Two out of those three questions were probably what everyone back at Kiseki was thinking. "What had happened to Kagami?" and "Is he okay?" He felt like an idiot. Actually, now that he gave more thought to it, he didn't just _feel _like an idiot, for the love of God, he _was_ an idiot.

Kagami ripped open the top of the envelope, nearly jumping out of his seat when he was suddenly showered with a barrage of finely sealed, secondary envelopes. One of the envelopes, however, stood out far more than the others. Of course it did. It was bright yellow, after all.

Somehow, Kagami knew that it would be in his best interest to read from that envelope first. So, with semi-steady fingers, he carefully tore open the top flap of it and pulled out the bubble wrap stationery that was within.

_Dear Kagamicchi,_

_Please read these letters. I did not _

_write them. I think reading them_

_will make you see that it's time for _

_you to come home now._

_ Again, I did not write these-ssu. Kise._

Kagami felt his stomach drop. Something must have happened, something major, that had forced Kise to message him. What was it? He didn't know. He didn't write all of these? That was peculiar. But if he didn't...then who did?

One look at the handwriting of his name on the front of each and every one of the envelopes, and Kagami no longer had any reason to ask.

These letters, by no doubt in his mind, they were written by Kuroko.

* * *

"Mom, I want to go home."

Confused and concerned, Kagami's mother set down the stack of plates that had been in her hands to look at her son. "What was that? What are you talking about, Taiga?"

"I told you, Mom," he spoke once more, "I want to go home."

"But, darling, you are home-"

"No, I'm not. This isn't my home anymore. This is, it's my _childhood_ home." Kagami ran an anxious hand through tuffs of his duel-shades of red hair, trying to find a way in which he could properly rationalize his reasoning. "My _real_ home, it's back at Kiseki. Kiseki Village, Mom. I need to go back. I _need_ to go back."

Fitting her hands into her hips, Kagami's mother pressed her lips into a thin line. "What's with this all of a sudden, Taiga? I'm confused. Just yesterday, you were having so much fun with your friends here. I don't understand."

Kagami sighed. Of course she couldn't understand. It was something that someone who hadn't had the "Kiseki experience" could ever begin to personally understand. "It's not something that you'll be able to comprehend, Mom. It's not something that even I fully comprehend myself, but please, you just have to trust me on this one. I need to be there. I have to go back."

After much deliberation on the topic - a yes here, a no there - followed by a brief discussion with his father, one where he earned his full and whole-hearted support, Kagami had been booked for the earliest flight out of California that he could get his hands on. Unbeknownst to him, that flight was set to land on the very same day that Kuroko had planned as his moving date.

* * *

_The morning of Kuroko's moving date_

* * *

"Kurokocchi!" Kise cried, jumping for the fragile feline. He was in need of moral support. However, just as all four of Kise's legs had gone airborne, Kuroko had skillfully moved out of the way, sending him straight into a wall of boxes with a loud crash. "Ow! My nose!"

"That's what you get for being noisy," Kuroko murmured, obviously suppressing muted laughter. "Come on. Help me load these clothing boxes into the wagon."

"Will do-ssu!" Kise nodded. "Oh, wait!"

"What?"

"Let me go get Aominecchi! He's good with lifting and he can help us. The job will go by a lot faster, won't it?"

Approving the idea, Kuroko said, "That's smart. Go get him; I'll wait here."

"Okey dokey, Ku~ro~ko~cchi!"

"That was lame."

"Shhh!"

* * *

Scampering through the town and toward the train tracks, Kise was pleasantly surprised to see that the guard rails were closing down upon his arrival. _'That's odd,' _he thought. _'I didn't think the trains ran on the off-hour.'_

Waiting for it to pass and for the rails to open up for him, Kise ran across the tracks and rounded the corner of the building to take a peek inside of the train station.

The sight he was presented with was enough to make him yelp out of dumbfounded delight.

"Ka-Ka-Kagamicchi?!" he barked, quickly earning the attention of the redheaded teenager as he stepped out through the train's sliding doors and onto the platform.

"...Kise?"

"Kagamicchi!" Kise wailed, running straight for his long-lost friend's legs. He hugged them affectionately. "Kagamicchi, oh, Kagamicchi! You're home! You're finally home! I can't believe it...I can't believe it!"

"Whoah there," Kagami chuckled, patting Kise's fluffy little head. Oh, how the pup had missed those tender little pats. No one else had loving hands quite like Kagami. Then again, no one else in Kiseki Village really had "hands" to begin with. "Kise, calm down, calm down."

"Calm down? Calm down?!" Kise yipped. "How can I calm down, when you're finally home! You're finally here-ssu! You're-!"

"Where's Kuroko?"

"...Eh?"

"Kuroko," Kagami repeated certainly, "where is he?"

* * *

Unable to wait for Kise and Aomine any longer, Kuroko began carrying his clothing boxes over towards his wagon on his own. He had done heavy lifting before, he could do it again.

Just as he was about to set the last of the boxes from that section down into the wagon, there was a three-part knock on his front door. This had horribly baffled him. "Kise? Didn't I tell you that the door was unlocked? You don't have to knock, you know. Just come-"

"Kuroko."

Every sense, every fiber of Kuroko's being was telling him not to turn around. No, this was a mistake. This was a dream, and he merely hadn't woken up from it yet. There was no way that this was happening. Absolutely no way.

"Kuroko, open the door."

There it was again, that voice that clearly had not belonged to Kise. It certainly wasn't Aomine's, and there was no way that it could have been anyone else's, for they were all night owls in nature and slept in during the mornings. Murasakibara especially.

In his dream-of-a-state, Kuroko wandered for the door, only to hesitate when he had reached it. He knew that it was time to twist the knob and face his fears, every single one of them, head on. But he did it. He opened the door and he lifted his head. And there he was. Standing directly in front of him, in all of his undefined and inexplicable glory, was the very reason that Kuroko had decided to press the reset button on his life in the first place.

"Hey," Kagami whispered, speaking so softly that he couldn't guarantee he had even said anything at all.

"Hey," Kuroko returned, just as soft-spoken.

"We need to talk." And Kagami was right. Regardless of Kuroko's move, there were many things that he and his estranged best friend needed to talk about.

"Yeah, we do," Kuroko nodded, stepping backward to allow Kagami entry into his home. "Come in."

* * *

_Hi there! Chappy here! :D_

_Back and better than ever with my cliffhangers, whoop!_

_Can you believe it? This is it, everyone. This is the final stretch. Next week will be the very last chapter of _**Kagami no Crossing**_._

_What's going to happen next? Will Kuroko still move? Will Kagami convince him to stay? Will Midorima ever get to eat seedless watermelon again? We just don't know. (Actually, I do know, but I'm not going to tell you. You'll just have to wait and see.)_

_As always, thank you for reading, and I hope that you've enjoyed! (:_

_- Chappy_


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